Stephen Colbert Rips Into Benjamin Netanyahu

Stephen Colbert has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the airstrike within the Gaza Strip that killed seven staff for the charity World Central Kitchen.

Israel has come underneath fireplace from the worldwide neighborhood after the airstrike on Monday night time, which World Central Kitchen—a nonprofit based by Spanish chef José Andrés—stated occurred whereas the group was leaving a warehouse the place they’d unloaded greater than 100 tons of humanitarian meals that was delivered to Gaza by sea.

Among the many seven charity staff killed embrace one Palestinian and 6 overseas residents, together with a twin citizen of the U.S. and Canada. The opposite victims had been from Australia, Britain and Poland.

Netanyahu stated in a press release on Tuesday that the airstrike was a “tragic occasion in our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants within the Gaza Strip,” including: “This occurs in battle. We’re conducting an intensive inquiry and are involved with the governments. We’ll do every little thing to stop a recurrence.”

Colbert hit again at Netanyahu’s assertion throughout Wednesday night time’s installment of The Late Present with Stephen Colbert, saying: “Nothing simply occurs. You’re accountable. In case your reply is, ‘This occurs in battle,’ then perhaps contemplate ending the battle.”

After his remark sparked applause from the studio viewers, Colbert went on: “This isn’t an remoted incident. On high of the hundreds and hundreds of harmless lives which have been misplaced, greater than 200 help staff have been killed in Gaza because the battle between Israel and Hamas started.

“And as lots of you understand, the World Central Kitchen is close to and pricey to my coronary heart. It was based by our good friend, Chef José Andrés, to deliver meals to hungry individuals after pure disasters and in battle zones.”

Colbert then cited the “lovely op ed” that Andrés had written for The New York Occasions relating to the incident. “Within the op ed, José makes it clear the World Central Kitchen would not take sides,” the TV character stated. “Their work relies on the straightforward perception that meals is a common human proper. It’s not conditional on being good or dangerous, wealthy or poor, left or proper.”

“We don’t ask what faith you belong to,” Colbert quoted Andrés as writing. “We simply requested what number of meals you want.”

“They stroll the stroll,” Colbert stated. “Thus far on this battle, World Central Kitchen has delivered 1.75 million sizzling meals in Israel and 43 million meals in Gaza. They get in there with the meals they usually do the job.”

“However now due to this airstrike, all of their operations in Gaza are suspended,” Colbert added. “And that threatens to worsen the degrees of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza that one U.S. company referred to as unprecedented in fashionable historical past.

“As a substitute of being welcomed, [World Central Kitchen workers] have been attacked by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and Hamas has hauled members of their group in for interrogation. So no matter you assume ought to occur in Israel and Gaza, I hope we are able to all agree that individuals must be allowed to eat.”

Netanyahu has confronted immense stress from the worldwide neighborhood over his authorities’s response to the Hamas-led shock assaults on southern Israel on October 7. Gaza well being officers estimate that over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched into retaliatory strikes. Israeli officers say that roughly 1,200 individuals had been killed within the assaults by Hamas.

United Nations officers have warned that giant swaths of the Gaza inhabitants are going through imminent hunger, and President Joe Biden has joined calls to succeed in a short lived cease-fire within the battle to make sure that help is ready to attain these in want. Such agreements would additionally assure the discharge of a number of the hostages taken by Hamas throughout the October 7 assaults.