Ep 2: Trump and the Israel/Hamas conflict

A look at the Israel/Hamas conflict and how things have changed since Trump took office. 

Episode Transcript

Raheel Khan (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of
Khannecting the Dots.
I'm your host, Raheel Khan.
Today we are diving into a topicthat's dominated headlines,
sparked campus protests, andforced uncomfortable
conversations across thecountry.
We're talking about the IsraelHamas conflict.

(00:21):
Specifically what's happenedsince Donald Trump returned to
the White House.
Let's rewind for a moment.
Remember how Trump met withMuslim leaders and promised to
end the war in Gaza?
He claimed I will end conflictsand bring peace to the Middle
East.
This led to an Imam in Michigantelling an audience,"we as
Muslims stand with PresidentTrump...

(00:43):
because he promises peace."Peace in the Middle East.
An end to the violence in Gaza.
Relief for Palestinians.
That's what millions ofAmericans were hoping for, what
protestors across the countrywere demanding.
But did we get peace?
Or did things get worse?

(01:05):
Let's break it down.
But before I go on, I wanna makea quick comment.
In America and many Westerncountries today, if you talk
about Palestinian suffering,without providing the"proper
context", you're immediatelydiscredited.
If you don't lead withcondemnation of October 7th,
Hamas attacks nothing else, yousay matters.

(01:28):
Just ask Ms.
Rachel the beloved YouTube star.
She was viciously attackedonline accused of spreading
Hamas propaganda and evenreferred to the DOJ.
All for expressing sympathy forPalestinian children and showing
a photo of a malnourished child.
So let me be clear, Iunequivocally condemned the

(01:50):
October 7th attacks.
No civilian, Israeli,Palestinian, or anywhere in the
world should ever be killed ortaken hostage.
Everyone has the right to livein peace and security.
But here's the thing, Israelisdemand context for their
suffering.
Why are Palestinians denied thesame?
As one Jewish opinion writerrecently wrote in Haaretz, an

(02:11):
Israeli newspaper.
If nothing can justify what wasdone to us on October 7th, how
can it be that what we have beendoing to them for more than a
year and a half now, actionsthat have cost tens of thousands
of people their lives anddestroyed their lands does seem
justified to us.
Back in October, 2024, evenbefore Trump's return, UN

(02:33):
experts were already declaring"it's time to call a genocide a
genocide".
Fast forward to today, Gaza isin one of the most brutal phases
yet, civilians are dying atunprecedented rate.
Aid is blocked.
Desperation is everywhere.
For over a year, people arguedabout whether Palestinians were
facing famine.

(02:54):
There should be no doubt now.
Recently, the Israeli cabinetapproved the"concluding moves"
of the war in operation theytermed Gideon's chariots.
The goal, according to Israel,it's a mission to dismantle
Hamas and retrieve hostages, butcritics call it a blueprint for
permanent occupation, massdisplacement, and an expansion

(03:16):
of violence against thePalestinian civilian population.
At the same time, dehumanizingtalk about Palestinians is now
out in the open.
In the Knesset Israel'sparliament, a doctor pleaded for
the suffering children.
Only to be told by cabinetmembers.
"I'm not sure you're speakingfor us when you say you want to
treat every child and everywoman." And then there's the

(03:37):
media, a well-known Israeli TVproducer, Elad Barashi tweeted,
"I can't understand the peoplehere in the state of Israel who
don't want to fill Gaza with gasshowers or train cars.
Let's, finish this story, letthere be a holocaust in the
Gaza".
This is someone who works for anetwork favored by Netanyahu.
It's not new, it's just morebrazen than ever.

(04:00):
Let's take a quick look at howthe conflict affected the 2024
elections.
Over 75% of Muslim votersrejected Kamala Harris, more
than half backed Jill Stein.
About 21% voted for Trump, andonly 20% chose Harris.
In Arab majority cities inMichigan, where Trump had met
with the Muslim leaders, Harrisreceived 22,000 fewer votes than

(04:24):
Biden did in 2020.
Trump gained over 9,000 moreMuslim votes than he had four
years prior.
Why?
Because Muslim Americans weresick of watching the US
government enable the slaughterof Palestinians.
They saw Biden continue to armIsrael brushing off global
condemnation.
They saw democratic leadersignore pro-Palestinian

(04:45):
protestors.
So they sent a message.
The status quo is unacceptable.
Most Muslims didn't vote forTrump, but he still benefited.
A vote for Stein or anyone elseoutside the two major parties
was effectively a vote forTrump.
Right before inauguration.
The Trump administration touteda peace deal.

(05:05):
They claimed would've neverhappened without Trump, coming
to office.
But here's the truth.
The framework for that ceasefirewas already in place months
before Trump returned to office.
Back in May, 2024.
Egypt, and Qatar backed by theBiden administration, crafted a
three phase plan, a six week,ceasefire, and a hostage

(05:26):
prisoner exchange, gradualIsraeli withdrawal from Gaza's
urban areas.
Finally, a roadmap for long-termpeace and reconstruction led by
Egypt, Qatar, and the UN.
Hamas agreed, but Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu
refused to sign it.
Facing corruption charges andpressure from his far right

(05:47):
coalition.
Netanyahu dug in.
He insisted Israeli troopsremain in the Gaza buffer zones
and rejected any permanent ceasefire.
Critics, including top Israelisecurity officials and families
of the hostages, say it was allabout political survival.
Ending the war might mean facinginvestigations into the October
7th failures.
It could even trigger earlyelections, something that

(06:09):
Netanyahu couldn't afford.
So the deal stalled and the wardragged on.
As Trump's inauguration wasgearing up, the peace deal was
finalized.
Even though the Trump and Bidenteams worked together to get it
across the finish line, heclaimed credit for reviving the
same peace deal that had beenstalled for months, branding it

(06:31):
as a Trump administrationsuccess.
The ceasefire goes into effectfighting pauses.
Eventually 25 hostages and eightbodies are released to Israeli
officials.
Over 1500 Palestinian prisonersare freed.
Displaced Gazan's are beginningto return north, but the mood on
the ground is tense.

(06:52):
Even Trump admits he's notconfident that the truce will
hold, telling reporters,"that'snot our war.
It's their war".
Netanyahu calls the agreementtemporary and warns that Israel
will retaliate if Hamas violateseven a single term.
Meanwhile, Israel isconsistently accused of
violating the ceasefire bykilling Palestinians on a
regular basis and hindering aid.

(07:13):
The message is clear.
The ceasefire is on a faultline, ready to give at any
moment.
Then on February Netanyahubecomes the first foreign leader
to visit Trump at the WhiteHouse, They talk Gaza, Iran, and
regional security.
Then Trump floats a wild idea.
The US should take over Gaza andturn it into the"Riviera of the

(07:36):
Middle East".
Weeks later, Trump doubles downwith a viral AI generated video
showing himself and Netanyahusunbathing in Gaza's beaches
luxury resorts rising from therubble.
A golden statue of Trumpgleaming in the sun.
To Palestinians and much of theMuslim world, it's a slap in the
face, an offensive fantasy thatignores the devastation and

(07:58):
hints at forced displacement ofGaza's population.
Even some Israeli commentatorscalled it"detached from
reality".
Human rights groups condemn itas tone deaf, inflammatory, and
grotesque, especially while Gazastill smolders.
Less than two months afterTrump's returned to office and
just weeks after the viralRiviera video, Netanyahu

(08:19):
shatters the ceasefire.
On March 18th, Israeli forceslaunched massive new offensive
Gaza, killing over 400Palestinians in a single day.
Netanyahu's justification.
He claims"Hamas has failed torelease all hostages, continues
to smuggle weapons and violatesterms of the agreement.
Israel cannot and will not allowterrorists to regroup on its

(08:41):
border".
But critics including Israeliopposition leaders and
international observers tell adifferent story.
The ceasefire was mostlyholding.
Israel, kept trying to changethe terms of the deal, and
Netanyahu really never had anyintention of beginning phase
two.
Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu's real motive waspolitical to protect himself

(09:03):
from accountability over theOctober 7th failures, and to
appease far right coalitionpartners demanding total
victory.
One right cabinet member hadquit his coalition at the
beginning of the ceasefire andonly rejoined after Netanyahu
broke the deal.
The result, a catastrophicescalation.
Thousands more Palestinians havebeen killed and the hostage

(09:24):
crisis.
Remains unresolved.
The timing couldn't have beenmore devastating.
As Palestinians and Muslimsaround the world observed
Ramadan a sacred month offasting and prayer.
Israel ramped up itsbombardment.
Air strikes destroyed tents,homes, and shelters.
Then on Eid-ul-Fitr, one of theholiest days in Islam when

(09:47):
Muslims mark the end of Ramadanwith prayers and festivities.
Dozens were killed In Rafa andKhan Younis.
Aid deliveries remain halted.
Families struggled to find asingle meal to celebrate or to
break their fast.
By the end of March, Gaza'sdeath toll surpassed 50,000,
with thousands more killed sincethen.
Most were women and children.

(10:08):
The real number, likely, muchhigher, thousands remain buried
beneath the rubble.
One of the many terrible momentsof this new phase of the war
came on March 23rd.
Israeli forces struck a convoyof ambulances and rescue workers
in Rafa.
15 people were killed.
Eight were Palestinian RedCrescent medics.
Five were civil defense workers,and one was UN agency employee.

(10:33):
At least three more Red Crescentworkers were detained.
Two were released within a day,but one, Asaad al Nasasra was
finally released after beingheld prisoner for over a month.
Why was he held for that long?
Unknown.
He's a first responder, not aterrorist.
When investigators found thebodies, the evidence was
chilling.
One medic had his hands zip tiedbehind his back, shot at point

(10:56):
blank range.
Others had wounds inconsistentwith crossfire, suggesting they
were deliberately targeted.
The ambulances were clearlymarked.
The victims wore reflectivevests.
At first, the Israeli militaryclaimed the convoy was advancing
without emergency lights, andthey assumed it was militants.
But a video recovered from aslain paramedic's phone and
later verified by internationaloutlets told different story.

(11:20):
It showed the team followingstandard emergency protocols,
rushing to save lives and beingbrutally massacred in the
process.
Human rights groups labeled it awar crime.
The Palestinian Red Crescent.
Called it a catastrophe, notonly for us, but for humanity at
large.
As horrifying as this incidentis, it's not isolated.
Israel has been targetinghealthcare workers simply for

(11:43):
doing their job, and not just inGaza.
Doctors Without Borders hasconfirmed that healthcare
personnel have been targeted andkilled in multiple hospitals.
As the ceasefire collapsed andbombs resumed another front in
the war opened, one fought notwith weapons, but with hunger.
Since early March, Israel hasenforced a total blockade on

(12:04):
humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
For over two months, no food,fuel, or medicine has been
allowed through.
Aid agencies now call it theworst humanitarian crisis in
nearly two decades.
Then on May 2nd, thingsescalated even further.
An Israeli drone strike hit ahumanitarian ship in
international waters near Malta.

(12:26):
The vessel operated by theFreedom Flotilla Coalition was
carrying food, medicine andinternational activists.
Climate advocate.
Greta Thunberg was reportedlyscheduled to join the next leg
of the.
The ship over 1600 nauticalmiles from Gaza was struck
twice, set ablaze, and disabled.
Everyone on board survived afterMaltese rescue teams intervened,

(12:47):
but the mission was aborted.
Legal and humanitarian groups,including the UN and Amnesty
International, condemned thestrike as a war crime in a
violation of maritime law.
It was unthinkable.
An independent state attackingan aid ship in international
waters while famine loomsashore.
The backlash to all of this, hasbeen loud.

(13:09):
The United Nations, EuropeanUnion, and human rights groups
called the Blockade and shipStrike, cruel Collective
Punishment, the UN's EmergencyRelief chief warned, blocking
aid kills.
It starves civilians.
It strips them of dignity andhope.
The Red Cross says Gaza'shumanitarian system is on the
verge of total collapse, theWorld Food Program reports empty

(13:30):
warehouses and soup kitchens,rationing their final meals.
On the ground, the suffering isstaggering.
UN food stores are almostcompletely depleted.
Three quarters of Gaza'spopulation are at emergency or
catastrophic food deprivationlevels.
Hospitals are running out ofmedicine, anesthesia, and are
often without electricity.
57 children have reportedly diedfrom the effects of

(13:52):
malnutrition.
A number that's almostcertainty, an underestimate.
Israel defends the blockade,claiming it's necessary to
pressure Hamas into releasingthe remaining hostages.
The irony, hostages were beingreleased.
Israel changed the rules, whichled to the hostages remaining in
captivity.
Officials allege Hamas divertsaid in that only a new

(14:13):
controlled system possibly runby US backed contractors can
ensure aid reaches civilians.
But the UN and major relieforganizations, who were on the
ground, have rejected theseclaims.
Saying there's no credibleevidence of large scale aid
theft.
And even if there were legalexperts argue, it does not
justify starving a civilianpopulation.

(14:35):
The International Court ofJustice has issued binding
orders for Israel to allow aidin.
Orders that have been ignored.
Under global pressure, Israelunveiled a controversial new
plan.
Private companies, likely USbacked, would distribute aid
from Israeli controlled hubs inso-called safe zones.

(14:55):
Initially, four will be set up.
Serving roughly 300,000 peopleeach.
Not enough to cover the entirepopulation of Gaza, estimated at
2 million.
More apparently will need to beset up.
Crucially, none will be in thenorthern area of Gaza, where
hundreds of thousands of peopleare currently located.
UN officials and aid groups saythe plan amounts to force
displacement and is designed toreinforce control over life

(15:18):
sustaining items as a pressuretactic.
There's also concern thatPalestinians will be forced to
move to the distribution hubs orwork for miles to reach them,
triggering their forceddisplacement.
Depopulating large parts of theGaza.
Israel is being accused ofweaponizing aid, making survival
conditional on compliance.
Even then, there's no cleartimeline.

(15:38):
No trucks are moving, no food isarriving.
The blockade continues.
And Gaza starves.
Israel has now launched a newphase of the war operation
Gideon's Chariots".
Named after a biblical warriorwho led a few hundred fighters
in annihilating, the Midanites,an ancient Arabic nomadic tribe.

(16:00):
Think about that for a second.
Even the name speaks volumesabout Israel views its final
plan.
The objective seize full controlof Gaza, force the population
south, to Rafa, and expel asmany Palestinians to neighboring
countries as possible.
And ration just enough aid tokeep starvation at bay or as

(16:21):
Israel calls it, essential needsthat will be distributed once a
week.
Israeli officials are clearlytelegraphing their long-term
plans to occupy Gaza.
With one far-right politicianand Netanyahu allies saying"once
a maneuver begins, there will beno withdrawal from the
territories we've captured, noteven in exchange for hostages."
The defense minister stated"inany temporary or permanent

(16:43):
arrangement, Israel will notleave the security zone around
Gaza.
Israeli officials say theoperation will intensify if no
new hostage deal is reached bythe time of Trump's upcoming
visit to the region.
But most analysts believe thegovernment plans move forward no
matter what happens with thisvisit.
And Trump, it's unlikely he'llcondemn or try to stop it.

(17:05):
He's already shown his disdainfor Palestinian and
pro-Palestinian protestors overthe past few months.
But behind the show of force,Israel is facing a crisis within
its own military.
IDF Reservist.
Attendance is dropping.
Some units are seeing lowturnout with the reports
suggesting up to quarterreservists are flat out refusing
to show up.
Many are burned out,disillusioned, or unwilling to

(17:27):
fight in the war, they see asendless and unwinnable.
How long can Israel sustain thiscampaign and at what cost to
both Palestinians and Israelis.
As operation Gideons Chariotsramps up.
The global response is growinglouder and increasingly
frustrated.
The United Nations has issuedurgent warnings.

(17:47):
Human rights organizations haveaccused Israel of war crimes.
European leaders have condemnedthe blockade and the attack on
the aid ship as violations ofinternational law.
But in the US halls of power,the silence is deafening.
Recent reports suggest there maybe a rift growing between Trump
and Netanyahu since he's notvisiting Israel on his current

(18:10):
Middle East tour.
But Trump, he has alwayssupported Israel saying he would
give Israel everything it needsto finish the job in Gaza, not
long after he took office.
More recently, Israeli NationalSecurity Minister, Itamar
Ben-Gvir, the far right officialwho wants the complete
destruction and takeover ofGaza, was hosted by Republican

(18:30):
officials at Trump's Mar-a-LagoResort in Florida.
After the dinner, Ben Gvirboasted, that Republican, had
express"support for my veryclear position on how to act in
Gaza, and that the food and aiddepot should be bombed."
Meanwhile, protests are eruptingaround the world in Spain,
Morocco, Sweden, even Tel Aviv.

(18:52):
Students in the US areprotesting again recently taking
over the library at Columbia andan engineering building at the
University of Washington.
Small protests have also brokenout on other campuses
nationwide.
This, despite the extremetactics that Trump
administration has taken,silence critics of Israel and
supporters of Palestine.
Everybody is demanding the samething.

(19:14):
Stop the war.
Stop the genocide.
Allow Palestinians to returnhome and have a free and
independent country.
It's a moment of reckoning, notjust for Israel, not just for
Palestine, but for the globalcommunity, and especially for us
here in the United States.
Why?
Because we're not just watchingthis war.

(19:35):
We're funding it.
We're shielding itdiplomatically, and too often
we're silencing those who dareto speak out.
So Trump promised peace, butinstead, what we've gotten is
devastation, displacement, anddespair.
The question isn't just what'shappening over there, it's what
can we do to stop it from here?

(19:57):
Thank you for listening totoday's podcast.
Everything I've covered is justthe tip of the iceberg when it
comes to the atrocities andhorrors that have been occurring
in Gaza.
I haven't even mentioned thebrutalities that have been
occurring in the West Bank.
In future episodes, I hope torevisit this topic and provide
more context to the ongoingconflict.
Until then, I urge you to findout more about what's happening

(20:17):
to the Palestinians.
There are many amazingpodcasters covering the
situation.
I've personally found Owen Jonesto be one of the best, and
anybody interested should take alisten.
If you wanna find out more abouthow Palestinians have lived in a
system that even formerPresident Jimmy Carter called
Apartheid, I urge you to read ADay in the life of Abed Salama

(20:40):
Anatomy of a Jerusalem tragedy,by Nathan Thrall.
It's an eye-opening, brutallyhonest, and heart-wrenching
account of a father's desperatesearch for his child across Gaza
and West Bank after a terribleaccident.
This has been Khannecting thedots.
If you like what you heard,please like, subscribe, and
share with a friend.
Until next time, stay curious,stay critical, and stay

(21:03):
connected.