 The United Nations General Assembly voted on the latest resolution on Cuba against the U.S.'s embargo that has been choking the island nation for over six decades. The overwhelming vote left only the United States and Israel on the side of continuing the blockade. What does this vote tell us about the United States' rhetoric on human rights? As the U.S. asks for humanitarian pauses to Israel's war on Gaza, the death toll in the strip has crossed 9,000. Hospitals are over-occupied, strung out and short on even the most basic of requirements as well as, of course, on fuel. Hospitals are now on the verge of complete shutdown. What are medical workers in Gaza facing on a daily basis as of today? Australia and China will mark 50 years of formal diplomatic ties with a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Antony Albin S. Does the visit underline the unique relationship between the two nations? Salam, you're watching Daily Debrief coming to you as always from the People's Dispatch studios here in New Delhi. I'm Siddharth Dhani. Before we go any further, take a second and please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Our lead story today in the context of the ongoing Israeli offensive against Gaza, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly as it does every year on resolution against the U.S. blockade on Cuba. An over-60-year policy that Washington has maintained despite the rest of the world condemning. The policy, of course, has a massive impact on the economic lives and freedoms of the people of Cuba, as well as, of course, Cuban nationals who live outside the country. Israel was the only other nation to support the United States while Ukraine abstained from voting. Anatalia Marquez has the details and joins us now. The United Nations General Assembly just voted almost unanimously to end the cruel and illegal 60-plus-year-long U.S. blockade against Cuba. The only states to vote against this resolution are the United States, of course, which enforces this blockade and Israel. The only state to abstain is Ukraine. Of course, in the backdrop right now is Israel's genocide against the Gaza Strip and its ongoing occupation of Palestine. The United States funds Israel to the tune of $4 billion each year and is about to pass a massive spending package funding Israel with an additional $14 billion in the wake of this genocide that's happening right now against the Palestinian people. Ukraine, also a country that receives billions of dollars in U.S. funding every single year, ever since the beginning of the conflict with Russia in February of 2022. So these three states being the only countries not voting in favor of this resolution is no coincidence, right? 187 nations voted in favor. Every single year Cuba presents this resolution to end the blockade, which has caused fuel shortages, food shortages, medicine shortages, inhibits the humanitarian financial aid into the island, inhibits trade, really causes a lot of financial economic strain on the Cuban people who are not able to access many of the same resources as people in the United States. Cubans can't even use things that we take for granted such as Zoom in the rest of the world. So this is something that Cuba has been trying to eliminate ever since essentially the revolution, you know, this blockade was put in place only shortly after 1959, the triumph of the of the Revolution Cuba. The representative of Gabon said today, during the UN General Assembly debate, the scale of its impact is more and more harmful to the Cuban people, and that it's clearly a hostile act to region and continental cohesion. Every single year the Cubans introduce this resolution, every single year it passes overwhelmingly, and every single year the United States chooses to once again ignore it and continue to illegally blockade the island despite the opposition of the rest of the world. However, with the additional backdrop of Palestine and the growing unpopularity of US imperialist policies throughout the entire world, and even in the United States itself by its own people, the United States is becoming increasingly isolated by the rest of the world in its pursuit of violent sanctions and blockades of any country that doesn't follow its agenda. Venezuela, a country that has been sanctioned by the United States for many years for having a similar revolutionary process to Cuba, called out the United States for being an isolated state in the UN General Assembly debate around this resolution. There are, as of now, going to be massive protests to free Palestine in the United States in direct opposition to US policy and funding of Israel. There is a massive wave of discontent with the billions of dollars going to Ukraine. So, there is an increasing isolation of US imperialist policies on the world stage and in the US itself. Gaza City today is being described by reporters on the ground as a ghost town surrounded by Israeli forces and facing relentless aerial bombardment. The United States and Israel's rhetoric on war and human rights, meanwhile, continues as Natalia was just pointing out in the context of Cuba, of course. 9,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed so far according to the Ministry of Health. This is since October 7th and in Gaza alone. Reports from the likes of Al Jazeera also point out that there's been a marked rise in attacks on Palestinians by settlers in other parts of the occupied territories as well. These are now almost a daily occurrence. Thousands of workers who were from Gaza who were employed in Israel have now been forced back by authorities into the enclave. The siege has led to essential supplies almost completely out, nowhere near enough is coming in in terms of aid. Ana Vrachar has been reporting consistently on the medical and health conditions that we are seeing on the ground and joins us now. Ana, we're hearing that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel and is pushing apparently leaders for humanitarian pauses in the conflict. Just taking that as a little bit of a peg, tell us or update us on the situation from a health medical perspective that Gazans are facing at the moment. I know you're going to talk a bit specifically about particular hospitals, but first general sort of update on the scenario at present. Well, as the US is calling for the so-called humanitarian pauses, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has already warned that there are about 1,200 children still trapped under the debris. We have several, so we have over 100 paramedics killed during the conflict until now and we have several dozens of ambulances which are out of order as of today. So of course, this whole thing combines with the fact that there still isn't enough aid coming into Gaza, especially fuel, which is so necessary to run the generators of the hospitals that are already struggling with an extremely large number of patients. And also with the very high numbers of people who are seeking refuge in the hospitals. In addition to all that, many of the hospitals, especially those in Northing Gaza, are also reporting that they're experiencing shelling in their proximity and that's very close. So some hospitals are putting the shelling, the bombs falling down as close as to 150 meters from the hospital themselves. So you can imagine how that can impact everyday work. It's causing tremors, it's causing bursts of dust, it's causing of course extreme anxiety and stress among the patients and among the people who are there. So essentially it's no context for providing proper healthcare right now. And then of course, if we look in addition to that, what has been happening over the last couple of days, if people had been sheltering in the hospital grounds before, they're now moving into the hospitals. So that means that in addition to having tens of thousands of people, literally some hospitals are now sheltering between 10,000 and 50,000 people, not patients people who are just displaced and have nowhere else to go. They're now moving into the hospitals because there just isn't enough room and also outside it's not safe anymore. Of course, in addition to the people who are not hurt but they are seeking shelter in the hospitals, we also have skyrocketing occupancy rates in hospitals and I think that skyrocketing doesn't even begin to cover it here. Because if we look at some of the biggest hospitals in Gaza, like Kalshifa, it usually has the capacity for around 700 patients, it's now at several thousand. So it's not even something that we can compare to any kind of normal times. Also, a couple of days ago, we have heard reports that a couple of dozens of patients have been let through the Rafa border into Egypt. So that's the, you remember how they talked about the aid coming in is not even a drop in the ocean compared to the need that they're on the ground. So essentially the number of the patients who are leaving Gaza to receive proper care is not a drop in the ocean of what the people actually need. Some of the data coming out from the Palestinian Ministry of Health puts the number of injured people at over 20,000. So having 100 people leaving to Egypt does not even begin to cover it. And then on top of all that, and that's just, you know, a final point for this kind of overview is that of course we're talking about the hospitals and we should because it's such a central point of healthcare. But the WHO office for the occupied Palestinian territories has warned that not only hospitals but also primary services have been affected and then less than one third of the primary services that are needed are currently operating. So, you know, as people try to move south, if they try to move south, they're not facing a much better, a much better situation. They're facing an extremely limited amount of health services that they can access even before October 7. If we talk about dialysis only, only 20% of the dialysis capacity in Gaza were located south turn of what the Israeli occupying forces have targeted like with the evacuation orders. So, you know, even if the hospitals were able to move the patients, they would not be able to access the healthcare that is so much needed. And of course, those who are also working and are in providing whatever semblance of healthcare, they can no doubt, I mean, going above and beyond in terms of executing the jobs that they have to do. They're also very much a part of it. They're homes often part of the areas that are targeted extreme difficulties. And as part of your reportage, you've been looking specifically at, for example, the Indonesian hospital, the Turkish Palestinian as well as Al-Shifa that you mentioned earlier. Tell us a little bit more about these specific cases as, you know, those large hubs providing healthcare to large numbers of people. And now also, like you were saying, operating as makeshift camps shelters. So essentially, what you've said is very important. I think that, you know, the health workers that are there are continuing in spite of receiving daily or even hourly reports that their families have been murdered in attacks. They have died because of the bombardment themselves. And then in addition to that, you know, as days goes by, we are approaching the scenario that they have been warning all along about. And that's, you know, when the fuel runs out, the hospital is not able to operate anymore. So many of the hospitals have already stopped their operations because of lack of fuel, because of the attacks. We do know that the Indonesian hospital, which is also one of the largest in Gaza is already operating on backup generators. So that means that, you know, everything except for the extreme basics have been shut down. So that means limitations on oxygen stations, on ventilation, on air conditioning, but also on morgue fridge. So it's not, you know, it's something that's something that has very, very, very real effects on the people who are currently there. Then, of course, we also have to talk about the babies who are in the incubators and who could die if the power goes out. And again, as health workers have been warning all over again, that fuel is running out and it's not getting into northern Gaza. One more example of a very disturbing example of what has happened is that the only hospital which provides oncological care, the Turkish-Palestinian friendship hospital was forced to shut down. That means no oncological care. This has also been warned about by the WHO Director General who urged and pleaded for action to be taken on this account. There have been some reports which indicate that Turkey might take the patients if they're allowed to cross the border. But again, as we have seen over the past weeks, this is not something that happens overnight. So it's hundreds of people whose lives are currently in danger because this very essential hospital has been forced to shut down. And then, of course, to conclude with Al-Shifa, which as the largest hospital, is the one sheltering 50,000 people. Currently and repeatedly under evacuation orders because apparently Israeli authorities are saying that they might be hosting underground tunnels, which in their interpretation would make it fair game for an attack. But then on the other hand, you know, we're talking about such a large number of people, most of whom even in the case if they were able to move them all. And if all the people wanted to go, they have essentially no safe place to go. Again, we have heard over and over again. Also, recent reports indicate that those who even try to follow the evacuation order now and to leave North and Gaza to go to the south are being stopped, are being targeted by the Israeli occupying forces. And it's essentially not a feasible thing to do to move such a large number of critical patients anywhere, especially if you know that there are no capacities in terms of healthcare, but also in terms of supplies when you go south. And roads and things like that as well, of course, are targeted. So movement severely, severely impaired. All right, and thank you very much for that grim update on the situation in Gaza. And we're still talking about humanitarian pauses, it seems, but we'll leave it there for today. Right. And finally, our last bit for today. Australian Prime Minister Antony Albanes is visiting China on Saturday, the first Australian Prime Minister in seven years to make a state visit to its biggest trading partner by some way. The trip is also 50 years since the first such diplomatic visit by Gov Whitlam, who is then Prime Minister of Australia, of course, establishing formal relations between the two states. And while Albanes and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met previously at forums such as the G20, the visit is significant in the context of the recent thaw in the Australia-China equation. Anish covers the region for people's dispatch and, of course, reports regularly on daily debrief on ties between the two. He's with us now via video conference. Anish, good to have you on the show. I suppose it's an obvious indication that there is an attempt to rebuild what was a troubled relationship for some time, Anish. Yes, definitely. And it has been happening for nearly a year now. One of the things that pretty much marked the current Albanese government and set it apart from the previous Scott Morrison government is that it has been more or less practical, even though it has to pay some lip service and also has to make some statements in alliance with some of the liberals at home, some of the warmongers at home. It still is far more practical in substance and also when it comes to actually taking action. And so it understands the fact that you cannot supplant or replace China with anybody else because at this point in time it is almost irreversible. China is its biggest trading partner. Nearly a third of Australia's foreign trade volume comes from, is with China alone. And there is obviously this whole, you know, the gravity model of trade that also works in its favor. And China is its closest massive market that it can actually access to. And so losing that would be a big, big problem for Australia. And it will affect across sectors and industries from agriculture, from, you know, animal husbandry to even mining. And also it's a thing that actually Australia does supply China with. And with China can actually find replacements with but Australia cannot find the market to replace China with. And so that kind of sets it apart and this relations, this attempts at following this relations. And also, you know, the statements made by the prime minister where he says that he will try to anchor trade as the, you know, the way forward for China-Australia relations also shows that there is a practical side to his foreign policy at the moment. Is it also, Anish, there's a large number of people of Chinese origin who live in Australia. Is it also a constituency domestically for the Labour Party and Antony Almanaz to sort of consider as a factor in their foreign policy? I'm not sure how big those considerations would be. Obviously, there is a significant Chinese community diaspora within Australia. But, you know, diasporic Chinese have different kind of political affiliation. Many of them are not very keen with any kind of good relations with China or, you know, what they see as communist China. Some look at it as the homeland that they might have some level of loyalty to. There is definitely some level of welcome to this move and this attempt to thaw relations, primarily because it actually takes away the heat from them because obviously anti-Asian, anti-Chinese racism actually grew during this whole trade war business. And that has actually affected a lot of people of Chinese origins, including many Australian citizens. So that doesn't necessarily mean that it is something that is missed. But I do not think that they are the most significant factor. I primarily believe that there is a certain level of economic and trade interest that actually is driving this move forward. Because let's also face the fact that even the capitalists within Australia, domestic capitalists do not want any kind of bad relations with China because they do depend a large part of their trade, of their business with China and the market that it affords these companies. So definitely, they do not want to jeopardize that as well. And that also affects and that pretty much is the reason why this entire thing is happening right now. Nevertheless, we have to wait and see how far this can actually go if there is some dire level of commitment. But nevertheless, as I told you, it is irreversible, the kind of trade volume and the kind of relations that these two countries have had. There might be damages that have been done, but it is not possible and in fact completely impossible for them to replace the other that easily. Alright, we didn't see that that visit is still upcoming. So if there are any major breakthroughs, Anish will of course report on those. That's all we have on the show today from Anish, myself and the entire team here at People's Dispatch. Thank you very much for watching. As always, you can head to our website, peoplesdispatch.org, for details on these stories and all of the other work that we're doing. Also, don't forget to follow us on the social media platform of your choice. We'll be back tomorrow. Until then, goodbye.