Democracy Now! co-host Juan González discusses his new report on “The Current Migrant Crisis,” about how U.S. policy toward Latin America has fueled historic numbers of asylum seekers. He argues U.S. “economic warfare” against countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela is what motivates many migrants to risk the journey north. “We’re seeing this enormous increase from these three countries.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen says a ceasefire is desperately needed in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment has killed more than 6,500 Palestinians since October 7. “Wars lead to an ‘us vs. them’ mentality: ‘We are good, they are evil,’” he says.

We are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss his new book, A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial. Last week the 92NY, a major cultural institution in New York City, canceled an event with Nguyen after he joined 750+ writers in signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. His memoir explores his family’s personal history as refugees from Vietnam dealing with the impacts of U.S. imperialism.

Despite growing international condemnation, Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire of its continued assault on Gaza. “Israeli forces carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians, and in some cases that we documented, … entire families were wiped out,” says Amnesty International researcher Budour Hassan, who shares testimonies of Gazans from a new report on Israeli war crimes.

We speak with Noy Katsman, whose brother Hayim Katsman was a peace activist killed by Hamas militants in the village of Holit on October 7, about how they are demanding the death of their sibling not be used as a pretext for more bloodshed. “What Israel is doing now is very clearly not for the security of anyone,” Katsman says of the bombing campaign. “The real reason is just revenge and killing and distraction [from] the failure of Israel to protect its citizens.

World leaders are warning of the risk of a wider war in the Middle East as Israel’s assault on Gaza could spill over to other parts of the region. We speak to independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous about the negligible amount of aid that Israel is allowing to trickle into Gaza from the Rafah border crossing.

Hamas has released two Israeli civilians held hostage in Gaza, 79-year-old Nurit Cooper and 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, with the militant group saying they were let go for “humanitarian reasons and poor health grounds.” Hamas shared a video of armed fighters releasing the elderly hostages that shows Lifshitz reaching back to shake the hand of one of her captors and saying “Shalom” — the Hebrew word for “peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning if Hezbollah joins the fray in Israel’s escalating war on the Palestinian territories, Israel will wage a second war in Lebanon. This comes as Israel exchanged fire with Hezbollah on the southern border of Lebanon and struck airports in Syria. We discuss the latest developments with Rami Khouri, Palestinian American journalist and columnist with 50 years’ experience in the Middle East.