The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode: Best of 2025: Dispatch From Gaza's Nasser Hospital w/ Dr. Tarek Loubani
Date: December 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of The Majority Report features an in-depth and harrowing interview with Dr. Tarek Loubani, a Palestinian-Canadian emergency physician and founder of the GLIA Project, currently volunteering at Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Dr. Loubani delivers a firsthand account of the humanitarian crisis, starvation, decimated infrastructure, and the broader context of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. Following the interview, the Majority Report panel dissects media narratives and US political complicity in the crisis, including a sharp critique of politicians like Richie Torres, and features additional commentary on Zionism, anti-Semitism, and the shifting discourse on Israel within the US.

1. Introduction & Context

[00:27–04:53]

• Sam Seder and Emma Vigeland introduce Dr. Tarek Loubani and the GLIA Project.
• Emma emphasizes the difficulty and importance of the upcoming interview, noting its harrowing content but essential perspective from within Gaza.
• Sam outlines the broader genocidal context and lack of international accountability.
• Emma highlights the heroism of doctors like Loubani, who risk their lives in extraordinary circumstances.
• The GLIA Project's mission—to provide medical supplies in Gaza—is spotlighted, with a call for audience support.

“It’s a difficult listen, but an essential interview.” — Emma Vigeland [01:42]

2. Interview: Dr. Tarek Loubani Live from Gaza

[13:44–52:35]

A. Life in Gaza: Escalation of Crisis

[14:23–16:09]

• Dr. Loubani describes how conditions have deteriorated even further over the past year: entry for international aid and medical workers increasingly restricted; resource deprivation has worsened; mass displacement; starvation is near universal.
• Quote:

  “…The amount of food that has been coming in has progressively dwindled to the point that now when I see patients, almost everybody is starving… I can clearly make out their spine… It has been grinding, painful, and progressive. And… it's all been driven by this depraved, almost maniacal Israeli policy…” — Dr. Tarek Loubani [14:23]

B. Starvation and Its Effects

[16:09–22:27]

• Dr. Loubani explains the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s agricultural self-sufficiency and the rapid spread of famine.

• Details on physiological effects—massive malnutrition in children and adults, vivid descriptions of starvation’s effect on bodies.

• Loubani recounts tragic cases (an eight-month-old dying of starvation, failed attempts to create formula).

• Israel controls food entry, with only a fraction needed actually getting through (“60% of the population’s needs”).

• Quote:

  “The people who are severely malnourished, they will die. They will all die… That is thousands, if not tens of thousands of people. And that’s not because it’s impossible to fix… That’s because Israel will not allow us the materials and the supplies that we need…” — Dr. Tarek Loubani [21:35]

C. Israeli Claims and Organized Chaos

[22:27–29:59]

• Dr. Loubani forcefully rebuts Israeli claims that aid is intercepted by Palestinians, clarifying that lootings and chaos are enabled or orchestrated by Israeli-sponsored gangs (e.g., Abu Shabaab), often protected by Israeli drones and military technology during attacks, even on hospitals.

“The Israelis are war criminals and serial liars. They lie basically about everything…” — Dr. Tarek Loubani [23:17]

• Vivid account of a June attack on Nasser hospital by Israeli-backed gangs, supported by drones.
• Despite provocations, Gazan society remains highly ordered and self-organizing under adversity.

D. Security and Functionality of Hospitals

[29:59–35:17]

• Hospitals “function” only in the loosest term—massive shortages, overworked and malnourished medical staff, lack of supplies (gloves, gauze, medicine).
• Palestinian police and covert Arrow Unit provide minimal protection against attacks.
• Only a handful of hospitals barely operational.

“It’s an absolutely Sisyphean effort… We show up despite losing family members, despite being wounded, despite none of us having enough to eat, and… supplies… Every day it’s like a surprise what exactly we’re going to be lacking…” — Dr. Tarek Loubani [33:02]

E. The Broader Humanitarian Toll

[35:17–41:26]

• Discusses lack of menstrual products, and the risks faced by pregnant women and newborns; recounts trauma of an emergency C-section they could not perform due to a lack of supplies.
• Dr. Loubani observes a spiritual weariness in Gaza: death now met with a kind of relief because it ends suffering.

“Now, when somebody dies, you see… most people say God has now shown this person mercy. God has given them mercy to take them out of this fresh hell.” — Dr. Tarek Loubani [41:26]

F. What Can Be Done?

[45:04–48:42]

• Loubani challenges the “we need Israel to allow more aid” framing.

  “Israel is a depraved, criminal society… They will not allow aid to come in. They will be forced to allow aid in.”

• Outlines avenues for change: political protest, economic pressure (BDS), and military “attrition” on the ground. Urges persistence and continual involvement.

G. Counting the Dead: Undercounted Death Toll

[48:42–51:53]

• Dr. Loubani discusses massive undercounts in Palestinian casualty figures: only bodies brought to hospitals are counted, many left in ruins or red zones unrecorded; estimates true toll could be 5–6x “official” estimates—possibly 300,000 dead.

3. Panel Analysis & Political Discourse on Israel/Gaza

[52:36–97:51]

A. Critique of Politicians (Richie Torres and US Political Elite)

[52:36–69:30]

• Panel discusses Adam Friedland’s emotional interview with Rep. Richie Torres, who shills for Israel while erasing or minimizing Jewish dissent.
• Critiques Torres’ defensive use of identity politics and AIPAC’s influence; exposes the use of Jewish suffering to justify Israeli aggression.

“Torres looks like a sociopath, and he looks immensely vapid and callous and corrupt. And for my money, that's a pretty good outcome because that's kind of the reality.” — Emma Vigeland [54:03]

• Adam Friedland (Jewish) describes being indoctrinated into Zionism, witnessing occupation firsthand, and the personal cost of speaking critically.

  “…this is a very important thing to us. And the fact that I still fucking care about being Jewish is embarrassing… it feels like a stain on our history… Because what being Jewish is, isn't Israel… Judaism has existed for 4,000 years. This is a country for 75…” — Adam Friedland [57:03]

• Panelists note the cyclical co-opting and discarding of Jewish identity by US politicians when convenient for financial or geopolitical gain.

B. Tracing Narratives: Justifying Occupation & Media’s Role

[69:30–73:49]

• Discussion addresses the way Zionists and US media manipulate historical events (e.g., using the Hebron Massacre or October 7th) as starting points, erasing decades of settler violence and resistance.
• Richie Torres’ evocation of two-state solution labeled as a stalling tactic—"a way to outlast genocide under rhetorical cover"—while settlement expansion and ethnic cleansing continue.

“Evoking the two state solution is just a stalling tactic… Palestinians [are the] only side… working on it. The US and Israel… have been disrupting that talk...” — Brandon [67:14]

• Lines of argument expose the way power structures enable genocide and distract with procedural rhetoric while mass death and displacement go on.

C. Rejection of Asymmetrical Violence Narrative

[81:01–83:46]

• Sharp pushback on the asymmetrical standards by which Palestinian resistance is labeled “violence,” while occupation and genocide by Israel/US are disguised as “order” or “defense.”
• Panel ties these dynamics to broader themes—colonialism, imperialism, repression against marginalized groups at home as well as abroad (“war on terror”, “war on drugs” become wars on marginalized Americans).

4. Memorable Quotes & Key Moments

• Dr. Tarek Loubani on famine:

  "Every patient who I see, I can clearly make out their spine… their skin that's hanging off… It's all been driven by this depraved, almost maniacal Israeli policy..." [14:54]

• On undercounted deaths:

  “They release only the bodies they can identify with the ID numbers attached to them … organizations that have done these counts [elsewhere] estimate the number … to be five to six times more easily. That's 300,000 people very likely dead.” [49:17]

• On supply desperation:

  “We were smuggling in baby formula like it’s cocaine. That’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy.” [36:46]

• On protest and activism:

  "We must force Israel to stand aside while aid goes in... protests work... economic attrition... and military attrition are what's going to stop this..." [45:54]

• Adam Friedland on the cost of dissent:

  “Saying this to you right now will hurt people in my own family … what being Jewish is, isn’t Israel…” [56:53–57:03]

• Emma Vigeland on the Democratic Party’s disconnect:

  “These are questions that Slotkin and her colleagues in the Senate and in the House better start figuring out… The Democratic Party, the voters, are way ahead of them right now and it ain’t gonna change.” [92:56]

5. Timestamps for Key Segments

• [13:44–52:35] — Dr. Tarek Loubani interview in Gaza
• [14:23–41:26] — Starvation, hospital conditions, and attacks on civilians
• [45:04–48:42] — Discussion of activism: what people can do in the West
• [52:36–69:30] — Review of Adam Friedland–Richie Torres exchange, critique of political postures on Israel
• [73:10–83:46] — Deep dive into media framing, the stalling rhetoric of “two-state solution,” and the asymmetrical standards of violence

6. Final Thoughts & Tone

The tenor of the episode is urgent, sorrowful, and unflinching. Dr. Tarek Loubani delivers a devastating account of daily life—and death—in Gaza. The panel is analytical, irreverent, and fiercely critical as they dissect both the complicity of US politicians and media, and the rhetorical games that distract from ongoing mass atrocities. The message: the suffering in Gaza is a direct result of deliberate policy choices, and only sustained protest, economic and political pressure, and solidarity—refusing to look away—can hope to bring it to an end.

For further action:

• Support the GLIA Project
• Continue political protest / BDS
• Share and amplify Palestinian voices

End of Summary