The Tara Palmeri Show – Dispatch from Jerusalem: UN Body Declares Genocide as Israel Launches Land Invasion

Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Tara Palmeri
Guest: Sally Lockwood (Reporting from Jerusalem)

Overview

This episode presents an urgent dispatch on the deepening crisis in Gaza, focusing on the unprecedented declaration by a UN-commissioned legal body that genocide is occurring, as well as the escalation of Israeli ground operations in Gaza City. Tara Palmeri, from New York, and Sally Lockwood, reporting from Jerusalem, break down these developments and their global and regional implications, including the current state of diplomacy, mounting humanitarian catastrophe, media access challenges, and the political fallout across the Middle East and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Massive Internet Outages Across the Region

• [00:46] Lockwood describes how both Jerusalem and broader parts of the Middle East are experiencing major internet disruptions due to undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, with repairs expected to take six weeks.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 00:56):
    "The whole of the Middle East has been affected when it comes to Internet because some Internet cables in the Red Sea have been cut and apparently the disruption is going to last for around six weeks."

2. UN Legal Experts Declare Genocide in Gaza

• [01:58] Lockwood shares breaking news: a UN-commissioned independent body (not the full UN) has declared that genocide is presently occurring in Gaza—a landmark and controversial determination.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 01:56):
    "They've declared that a genocide is happening in Gaza, which is huge news. It's the most substantial declaration yet."
• Lockwood voices skepticism about the practical effect of such declarations, noting previous inaction.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 02:35):
    "My concern with all these sorts of reports is that it doesn't change anything."

3. Israeli Ground Invasion of Gaza City

• [02:45] The Israeli military has commenced a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City, after weeks of aerial bombardment. Israeli Defense Minister declares on X: "Gaza is burning."
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 02:59):
    "Their ground offensive in Gaza City has begun today, with the Israeli Defense Minister declaring on X, 'Gaza is burning.'"
• Graphic destruction: systematic flattening of high-rise buildings—allegedly used by Hamas for surveillance—leads to widespread civilian displacement and trauma.
• [03:30] “The whole city is under an evacuation order... trying to get a million people to move south,” but few can leave due to lack of resources or safe destinations.

4. Humanitarian Crisis and Exploitation

• [03:55] Temporary shelters, described as “plastic sheeting”, are selling for up to $1,000, far out of reach for most Gazans.
  • Quote (Tara Palmeri, 04:29):
    "That's insanity. That is disgusting, that exploitation of people that are in dire need."

5. Trauma and the Limits of Reporting

• [04:37]–[06:11] Lockwood reflects emotionally on the suffering in Gaza, her sense of frustration at being unable to witness and verify events firsthand, and the horrors documented in footage sent by contacts within Gaza.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 05:34):
    "Honestly, I can't describe to you how upsetting the images are... today I received a video of children at Al Shifa Hospital, some of them looked dead and some of them were screaming. And you can't fake that."

6. Media Access: Journalists Barred from Gaza

• [06:11]–[07:33] Lockwood explains that, since October 7, Israel has prohibited international journalists from entering Gaza, under the pretext of safety, making independent verification of facts nearly impossible and increasing narrative control.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 07:33):
    "We can only draw the conclusion that they don't want us to see what is happening there. And it makes it a lot easier for Israel to control the narrative when they don't have international journalists on the ground."

7. Importance and Reliability of Local Sources

• [08:35]–[09:07] Lockwood notes reliance on trusted, long-standing local sources, many of whom Sky News and she herself have worked with for years. Strict fact-checking processes are employed.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 09:07):
    "Sky News has had a relationship with teams in Gaza for a very long time, long before October 7th... I've been put in touch with the people that are my sources through credible, credible contacts."

8. Diplomatic Ruptures and the Rubio Mission

• [10:19]–[15:03] Senator Marco Rubio visits Israel for emergency damage control after an Israeli strike in Doha (Qatar) killed Hamas officials, infuriating a key US ally and derailing ceasefire talks.
  • Despite public reassurances, little progress is reported and behind closed doors, the US is believed to have warned Israel discreetly.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 10:55):
    "Marco Rubio has been in Jerusalem speaking with Benjamin Netanyahu... But really gave very little away in terms of America criticizing Israel in any way or reprimanding them for what they did."

9. Hostage Crisis and Collapse of Negotiations

• The strike on negotiators has enraged hostage families and destroyed any remaining diplomatic goodwill; Qatar’s mediation efforts are likely stalled.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 11:56):
    “How are they going to get the hostages back now when the very people that they were supposed to be doing a deal with, they've tried to kill? There's no goodwill anymore... at the moment, it's just really, really hard to see how that's going to move forward.”

10. Domestic and Regional Fallout for Israel

• [15:16]–[19:31] Palmeri and Lockwood discuss Trump’s limited approach to pressuring Netanyahu, referencing the previous Abraham Accords (with credit to Jared Kushner).
  • Lockwood assesses regional anger in the Gulf and the fragility of Israel’s normalization deals, which are threatened by new West Bank annexation plans.
  • European countries like Spain and France are taking unprecedented diplomatic actions (recalling ambassadors, supporting Palestinian statehood), raising regional security anxieties for Jewish communities in Europe.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 16:15):
    "I would say that those peace deals are on life support right now."
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 18:14):
    "...the Jewish community in France feel really vulnerable right now... he said to me, what you will see now is French Jews moving to Israel not because they want to, but because they need to.”

11. Growing Global Impact and Sense of Despair

• There’s a pervasive sense of hopelessness among Israelis, Palestinians, and even foreign visitors as violence escalates and diplomatic options vanish.
  • Quote (Sally Lockwood, 14:14):
    “He said to me, you know, I feel really depressed. I feel really depressed being here and seeing how things are and hearing...the developments. He said, I just feel like I've lost hope. And I think that is the sense here.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sally Lockwood, 02:59: “Their ground offensive in Gaza City has begun today, with the Israeli Defense Minister declaring on X, 'Gaza is burning.'”
• Tara Palmeri, 04:29: "That's insanity. That is disgusting, that exploitation of people that are in dire need."
• Sally Lockwood, 07:33: “We can only draw the conclusion that they don't want us to see what is happening there.”
• Sally Lockwood, 11:56: “How are they going to get the hostages back now when the very people that they were supposed to be doing a deal with, they've tried to kill?”
• Sally Lockwood, 16:15: “I would say that those peace deals are on life support right now.”
• Sally Lockwood, 18:14: "He said to me, what you will see now is French Jews moving to Israel—not because they want to, but because they need to."

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:56 – Middle East internet outage context
• 01:56 – UN legal experts declare genocide
• 02:45–03:58 – Israeli ground invasion and consequences
• 04:29 – Exploitation of displaced civilians
• 05:34–06:11 – Emotional toll and lack of journalist access
• 07:33 – Israeli control over press narrative
• 09:07 – Verifying sources in Gaza
• 10:55–12:00 – Rubio’s mission and diplomatic fallout
• 13:45 – Hostage families’ despair
• 16:12–16:15 – Abraham Accords’ uncertain future
• 17:30 – European diplomatic moves, Jewish community fears

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is candid, grave, and deeply informed. Both Palmeri and Lockwood emphasize the stakes and maintain a focus on factual reporting, transparency, and the human cost of the conflict. Lockwood’s eyewitness credentials and expressions of vulnerability (“I rarely lose hope, but I feel hopeless at the moment,” 05:49) draw the listener deeply into the gravity of events, even as she acknowledges the constraints and doubts of “reporting at a distance.”

Conclusion

This episode provides a harrowing snapshot of a turning point in the Israel–Gaza conflict, from both a humanitarian and geopolitical perspective. The declaration of genocide by UN-commissioned experts, the unprecedented scale and intensity of Israeli military action, the collapse of diplomacy, and shifts in both regional and global alliances are explored with on-the-ground insights and historical context. Listeners gain a nuanced and uncompromising understanding of the crisis, the fog of war surrounding the narratives, and what’s at stake for the people living through it and the world watching.