Israel announced a major escalation this week in its military operation in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the goal is to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

For over two months, Israel has blocked food and medical supplies from entering the enclave with the food shortages, community kitchens, as well as bakeries have shut down.

The United Nations says thousands of children are facing an increased risk of starvation, illness and death.

Joining the discussion: 

• Michael Lynk is a Professor Emeritus of Law at Western University and a former UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territory.
• Margaret Harris is the spokesperson for the World Health Organization.
• Nabeel Khoury is a former U.S. diplomat and the author of “Bunker Diplomacy: An Arab-American in the U.S. Foreign Service: Personal Reflections on 25 Years of U.S. Policy in the Middle East.”
• Sara Yael Hirschhorn is a Historian at the University of Haifa and a fellow of the Jewish People Policy Institute.