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Last viewed: 1 day ago
Uploaded: 13 Oct 2025 (1 year ago) · Shared: 13 Apr 2026
Duration: 17:10
Uploaded: 13 Oct 2025 (1 year ago) · Shared: 13 Apr 2026
Duration: 17:10
Youtube Description
In this interview, UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder and Mehdi Hasan discuss the blocking of aid, the siege over Gaza, and the surge of child illnessand trauma in the region, describing what Israel has done in Gaza as ‘the worst of humanity.’
“People in the North – I was with them yesterday. There’s not a choice here… the idea that your grandfather is in a wheelchair. You don’t have the money to get to the South,” UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder says to Mehdi as he joins from Gaza. “You also know very clearly that so-called safe zones have been struck dozens of times by air attacks.”
During the interview, Elder describes harrowing scenes of children dying right in front of him.
“I was outside at al-Aqsa Hospital in the middle area, Deir al-Balah. It was a room full of children, four or five children, all who’d been shot by quadcopters,” Elder tells Mehdi.
Mehdi and Elder discuss Israel’s deliberate starvation campaign in Gaza, with Elder telling Mehdi that the lack of food in Gaza “is not to do with logistics, this is politics.”
“Absolutely preventable,” Elder says to Mehdi. “Everything they [Palestinians] need is a few miles away. People are eating at nice restaurants 20, 30 miles away. So yeah, this famine was entirely, entirely man-made.”
Elder explains how Israeli checkpoints are hindering aid deliveries, what he makes of Western nations recognizing Palestinian statehood at the UN, and whether donations to UNICEF are still useful in the midst of Israel’s blockade.
*This interview was published almost two weeks ago on Zeteo’s Substack. If you would like early access to exclusive content like this, head over to zeteo.com and become a paid subscriber today! It costs less than a monthly cup of coffee and goes a long way in supporting our mission of bringing you fearless, independent journalism.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
1:25 Scarcity of Aid
4:22 Quadcopters
7:46 Malnutrition
10:08 UNICEF
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Mehdi Hasan Palestine Children UNICEFSearch Google Search Explore Topics
Who is Mehdi Hasan?Mehdi Raza Hasan (born 1979) is a British political journalist, broadcaster and author. In 2013, Hassan took part in a debate at the Oxford Union to consider whether Islam is a peaceful religion. Hassan vouched for Islam as a religion of peace, citing political and cultural reasons for violence in Muslim majority countries, as opposed to holding the religion of Islam responsible. In the vote on the motion, the house affirmed with Hassan and the other proposers that Islam is a religion of peace with 286 votes in favor and 168 votes against. Zeteo is a media company and Substack newsletter founded by British American commentator Mehdi Hasan on April 15, 2024 after he quit MSNBC due to his talk show's cancellation. Zeteo publishes daily news and holds a weekly talk show, Mehdi Unfiltered, hosted by Hasan, and a weekly podcast. The outlet has a YouTube channel with 1.8 million subscribers and uploads four to five videos per week.
Where is Palestine?Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Israel, and in some definitions, some parts of western Jordan. The name was used by ancient Greek writers, and it was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the territory claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land or Promised Land. Historically, it has been known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham, and the Levant. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics.
Who are Children?A child or children, is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, in this case as a person younger than the local age of majority, regardless of their physical, mental and sexual development as biological adults. Children generally have fewer rights and responsibilities than adults.
Who are UNICEF?UNICEF, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953 is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The organization is one of the most widely known and visible social welfare entities globally, operating in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.
