Free Republic

Celebrity chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Israel was committing a “war against humanity.” Discussing World Central Kitchen workers being killed in Gaza, Andrés said, “Every time something happens, we cannot be bringing Hamas the question. I think the IDF knows better than anybody that they can be a better army. There should be protocols. There should be rules of engagement, that somebody has to be making sure that the happen in a war zone, is way too many cases now of humanitarians dying.”

Human Rights Watch said Thursday that an Israeli strike on an apartment building in Gaza City last October was an “apparent war crime,” citing no military rationale behind the attack after a months-long investigation. The Oct. 31 strike killed at least 106 civilians, including 54 children, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report. The report “found no evidence of a military target in the vicinity of the building at the time of the Israeli attack, making the strike unlawfully indiscriminate under the laws of war,” the group said. “Israeli authorities have provided no justification for the attack.” The findings...

World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés has accused Israeli forces in Gaza of targeting his aid workers "systematically, car by car". Monday's strike which killed seven members of his staff was not a mistake, he said, repeating that Israeli forces had been told of their movements. WCK workers from Australia, Canada, Poland, the UK and the US were killed as well as their Palestinian colleague. Israel says the strike was a "grave mistake" and has apologised.

"This 'mistake' hit comes a day after the precision strike that killed the Iranian general in Syria. It's hard to reconcile those two things."That was Jonathan Lemire on today's Morning Joe. In saying that it's hard to "reconcile" Israel's "mistake" hit on the World Central Kitchen aid workers with the "precision" hit on the Iranian general, Lemire is hinting strongly this wasn't a mistake at all, but rather, an intentional act by Israel. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Federal workers and contractors not getting paid have had to resort to seeking handouts as the record-breaking shutdown continues for a fourth week. In Washington, DC, the line for free meals stretched down Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol because workers say any little bit helps when no money is coming in. “Accepting that I’m here is demoralizing,” said a teary Blen Woldearegay, a Department of Interior contractor who is worried about possible foreclosure on her new home. “It’s hard. It’s hurtful. I’m not the type of person that likes to do that [ask for help] just...