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The “humanitarian aid” scheme, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has characterized as necessary to maintain U.S. support for his war of annihilation against the Palestinians of Gaza, began on Tuesday. Within hours, Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians at a site near Rafah, while the family of a man who went to get a small box of food aid says he was kidnapped by Israeli forces. The program is managed by a shadowy “non-governmental organization” and is being staffed, in part, by U.S. mercenaries. Some eyewitness reports indicate U.S. contractors also fired at the crowd. No deaths or injuries have been reported as of publication. Photos released earlier in the day showed Palestinians packed into metal enclosures at the site, where, according to local sources, they were held for hours in intense heat with no clear system for distributing food. The aid center is one of two launched Tuesday under a controversial U.S.-Israeli mechanism that bypasses UN agencies and has drawn criticism from Palestinians and humanitarian groups.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Hamas announced it had reached an “understanding” with U.S. officials for a new ceasefire agreement, but almost immediately after the news broke, Israel denounced the plan and insisted it would not enter into any agreement with a clear path to halting the genocide or the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. On this week’s Drop Site News live stream, Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim analyze the Trump administration’s approach to the war against Gaza, the specific terms of the agreement Hamas endorsed and the prospects that Trump might force Netanyahu to halt Israel’s genocidal onslaught.

While all international and regional players recognize that Trump is the only person with the power to stop Netanyahu, there are strong voices within his administration that want to see Israel continue on with its occupation and ultimate goal of erasing Palestinians from Gaza and seizing the territory. Pressure is mounting from European nations on Israel to end its war, but the hard reality is that it will all come down to whether Trump—for his own political and personal business interests—decides it must stop.

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On today's episode, we talk some Eurovision fallout, the EU looking into diplomatic relations with Israel and the return of "It's Going So Well News."

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Jon Stewart critiques the media spin on Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis, from CNN's shameless promotion of Jake Tapper’s book to Fox News’s "but"-tainted sympathies.

Award-winning journalist Patrick McGee joins Jon to discuss how Apple built China in his new book "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company." They talk about Apple “sleepwalking” into this crisis, building a competitive market in Xi Jinping's authoritarian state, the vocational training that boosted rivals, how Trump’s attempted Apple boycott backfired, and whether investments may be facilitating the annexation of Taiwan.

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It’s bizarro world! In today’s episode, we kick off by discussing the recent summit between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), attended by President Xi Jinping and several Latin American heads of state of varying degrees of progressivism. With the threat of Trumpism and tariffs hanging in the air, the summit acquired both greater impetus and urgency. In section two: when does a big-tent political party become too big? Kurt and José Luis discuss this question in the context of the recent incorporation into MORENA of two former PRI members with checkered pasts: Adrián Ruvalcaba as head of Mexico City’s metro and Enrique Benítez in Durango ahead of elections there. Then…it’s back! The State Department liberates budgeted funding for the CIA cutout NED, known in Mexico for funding “civil-society” oppo organizations such as Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI). Finally, in a bizarro losers and haters, a rare thoughtful, analytical piece in the English-language press from Kate Aronoff at New Republic explores Mexico’s industrial policy.

Energy sanctions on Russia and seizing ships on the high seas

Andy Zaltzman is joined by Alasdair Beckett-King, Sara Barron, Daliso Chaponda and ITV Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana. Discussion points include this week's immigration White Paper, tighter controls on international students looking for gainful employment, the elusive definition of a 'skilled job', chimpanzees utility in medical emergencies, and the returns policy on a returns hub.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Samira Banks, Catherine Brinkworth, and Cody Dahler.

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.