Contributing Writers

A ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on Friday after the Israeli government approved the first phase of the U.S.-backed plan to end two years of war in the Palestinian territory. The deal calls for a pause in Israeli attacks, the release of the remaining Israeli captives held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, as well as an influx of badly needed humanitarian aid for the starving population of Gaza.

The new documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink looks at how hedge funds have gutted newsrooms across the country. The hedge fund strategy of “distressed asset investing” involves buying up industries that are struggling to turn a profit, and then selling off their assets and laying off workers. “You have people who are interested solely in making money off of the newspapers and not in serving the community and doing good journalism,” says director Rick Goldsmith.

Israeli forces have abducted over 500 peace activists over the past week who were sailing to Gaza in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged territory. Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla say most of the participants were sent to Ktzi’ot Prison, notorious for harsh and abusive conditions. Some have reported physical abuse, humiliation and inhumane treatment by Israeli soldiers.

President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal for Gaza. The 20-point roadmap includes a swap of captives and a phased Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, though details on many of the planks remain sketchy. Democracy Now! spoke with Palestinian and Israeli analysts on how to interpret the peace plan.
“We’re now at a fork in the road,” says Mouin Rabbani, a Palestinian Middle East analyst.

Celebrations broke out in Gaza and Israel overnight after President Trump announced Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal. Trump said the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza would likely be released on Monday. Israel has also agreed to release hundreds of Palestinians held captive in Israeli prisons, but a final list of prisoners has not been released.

The new documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink looks at how hedge funds have gutted newsrooms across the country. The hedge fund strategy of “distressed asset investing” involves buying up industries that are struggling to turn a profit, and then selling off their assets and laying off workers. “You have people who are interested solely in making money off of the newspapers and not in serving the community and doing good journalism,” says director Rick Goldsmith.

We speak to journalist David Klion about the Trump-affiliated right wing’s increasing grip on mainstream news media, as “anti-woke” pundit Bari Weiss takes the helm as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election for a House seat in Arizona two weeks ago, has still not been sworn in to Congress. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is blaming the government shutdown for the delay, even though he previously expedited the swearing-in of multiple Republicans who won their special elections before election results were even in.

As the government shutdown enters its second week, Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California says “the Republicans could open government today.” The two parties are at a standoff over provisions in the Republican spending bill that would cut health insurance benefits for millions of Americans. President Donald Trump said Tuesday furloughed government workers may not be paid, breaking with precedent and a 2019 law.

We speak with Plestia Alaqad, an award-winning Palestinian journalist whose on-the-ground reporting from Gaza captured global attention during the early days of Israel’s military assault two years ago. Then just 21 years old, her video dispatches went viral and offered the world a rare glimpse of life under bombardment.

As the world marks the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, we speak with Maoz Inon, an award-winning Israeli peace activist whose parents Bilha and Yakovi were both killed that day when Hamas fighters stormed their kibbutz near the Gaza border. Since then, Inon has become a world-famous advocate of peaceful coexistence for Israelis and Palestinians.

Israelis, Palestinians and people around the world are marking two years since the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza. The second anniversary of October 7 comes amid renewed hope for a ceasefire, as mediators from Hamas and Israel meet in Egypt to negotiate over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza. The proposal, like previous ones, calls for a swap of captives, as well as a phased Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.

As Chicago braces for a possible deployment of National Guard troops by President Trump, we speak with Ed Yohnka from the ACLU of Illinois about how the administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown is putting communities at risk. For weeks, federal agents with ICE and other agencies have carried out violent immigration arrests across Chicago, including in a high-profile raid on a residential building in which many U.S. citizens were also detained.

Starvation is now being used as a weapon of war in numerous conflicts across the globe — including Sudan, which continues to endure a yearslong famine. Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric doctor who just returned from Sudan, says that the famine is man-made. “Atrocities in Palestine, atrocities in Sudan that relate to malnutrition, that relate to famine, are a consequence of underlying structures that enable these things to happen,” says Haj-Hassan, who also volunteered in Gaza.

Palestinians are still being systematically starved in Gaza even as ceasefire talks are underway this week. “It is a choice that Israel has, whether to feed the people or whether to starve them,” says Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University.

Global condemnation is mounting as hundreds of international activists remain in Israeli prison days after Israel’s military raided and captured dozens of boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla. Reuters reports at least 170 flotilla activists, of the more than 400 arrested, have been deported from Israel. Many have described torture and mistreatment in Israeli custody.

President Trump is calling on negotiators to “move fast” on Gaza ceasefire talks as delegations from Hamas and Israel convene in Egypt to discuss the 20-point plan announced last week by the White House. The deal calls for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and to disarm. Daniel Levy, president of the U.S.

The Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces Thursday as its dozens of vessels approached the shores of Gaza. In response to the detention of the flotilla’s activists, Italian labor unions have launched a nationwide general strike demanding their release and an end to Israel’s relentless assault. Global Sumud Flotilla spokesperson Maria Elena Delia shares an update from Rome, where hundreds of thousands are participating in nonviolent protest.

The Oscar-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda is relaunching her father Henry Fonda’s free speech organization, the Committee for the First Amendment. First established in 1947 to combat the rise of McCarthyism, the organization brings together members of the film and television industry to push back against and refuse government censorship. Fonda’s announcement comes after the television network ABC brought back late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show following widespread protest.