The National Interest Foundation Newsletter

Issue 280, April 4, 2025

Welcome to our NIF Newsletter. In this week’s edition, we look into Israel’s reprehensible killing of medics and rescue workers in Gaza, and provide analysis on the economic and diplomatic impacts of President Trump’s array of April 2nd tariffs.

Editor: Bassam Tarbush

Israel’s Reprehensible Killing of Medics and Rescue Workers in Gaza

UN humanitarian agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and others have expressed outrage at the killing of the medics and rescue workers. (Photo from AFP)

The mangled bodies of more than a dozen medics and emergency responders were recovered from a mass grave in southern Gaza earlier this week, drawing heavy condemnation regarding their deplorable murder at the hands of Israeli forces. The horrific discovery followed their disappearance back on March 23rd, which had prompted a rescue operation to find them. Multiple independent observers were quick to verify that all of those killed were clearly marked humanitarian workers, and thus, should never have come under attack in the first place. Adding to the outrage over the already criminal circumstances surrounding the killing is the evidence of Israel’s attempt to try and cover up its illicit actions, with rights groups demanding accountability for the flagrant violation of international law. Unfortunately, amid news of it, the incident did not come as a shock to many since it is far from an isolated occurrence – and on the contrary – is part of a reprehensible pattern of Israeli forces intentionally targeting and killing non-combatants such as humanitarian workers, journalists, civilians, and others.

In merely the time since the onset of the Gaza War back in October of 2023, over 1,500 humanitarian workers have been killed by Israeli forces, while hundreds of medical facilities throughout the territory have also been destroyed. International law, the basis of which is formed by the universally ratified Geneva Conventions, explicitly stipulates that medical personnel and humanitarian relief workers must be protected and respected to carry out their duties – especially during times of conflict. Failing to guarantee their safety is bad enough, but the fact that on top of this, they are subjected to systematic and deliberate targeting by Israeli forces is truly abhorrent. Israel’s repeated brazen disregard of international law is alarming, and without proper accountability and punitive measures to deter this behavior and a sense of impunity, incidents such as the recent killing of medics and rescue workers in Gaza will only continue to take place. Disturbingly, with events like this being commonplace, there is also the risk of people becoming desensitized to them to the point where it gets dangerously normalized as something routine rather than eliciting the warranted rebuke that it deserves.

The evidence found at the scene of the mass grave sheds light on the indisputable direct nature of the recent killing of the humanitarian workers in Gaza. The bodies were dug out wearing orange emergency vests, gloves, and other clear rescue worker attire, with doctors who analyzed them noting that they were covered in severe bruises and showed signs of having been tortured and bound as well. The bullet wounds in the victims’ heads and chests provided proof that they were executed in cold blood after they were detained and tied up. Due to all of this, human rights groups like Amnesty International (AI) are calling for an independent and impartial investigation into the details surrounding the latest incident. As AI alluded to in its statement regarding this, the fact that these medics and rescue workers were killed while trying to save lives is incredibly distressing. Furthermore, there is no justification for humanitarian workers to not be protected in all situations, let alone be heinously targeted in a deliberate manner that constitutes an egregious war crime. United Nations humanitarian officials have also demanded justice for the victims, while echoing that these were emergency responders who were viciously murdered in the line of duty.

The recent Israeli attack on humanitarian personnel is the single most deadly one against Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017. Regrettably, this is not the first and likely will not be the last time that rescue workers are targeted and killed by Israeli forces. While these types of reprehensible acts are intended to be strictly prohibited, the mechanisms to effectively punish those who commit them and in doing so violate international law leave a lot to be desired. Standards of international law without proper and consistent enforcement have allowed entities like Israel to continually disregard the law with little to no repercussions. In fact, since October of 2023, an unprecedented number of aid workers have been killed in Gaza – at least 408. For context, some of the other major contemporary conflicts in places like Sudan and Ukraine have seen a little over 100 and 23 aid workers killed, respectively. Journalists have also been killed at never-before-seen levels during the course of the Gaza War, making it the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded. Documented figures such as these do not just happen randomly, and instead, are the result of a pattern of behavior that the world has failed to deter.

Economic and Diplomatic Impacts of President Trump’s Array of April 2nd Tariffs

Trump announced the sweeping tariffs at a White House Rose Garden event on Wednesday. (Photo from AP)

President Trump unveiled his long-anticipated multitude of April 2nd tariffs this week, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to try and justify the new measures. At a White House Rose Garden event on Wednesday, Trump announced that he will impose a baseline 10% tariff on imports from all countries effective this weekend, plus additional individualized ones on dozens of other nations that the United States has the largest trade deficits with that will be implemented on April 9th. While President Trump attempts to frame the tariffs as a means of reducing trade deficits and bringing foreign manufacturing back to the United States, many analysts and economic experts contend that they are not likely to create the desired results he is looking for. Instead, observers warn that the barrage of tariffs will bring about a rise in inflation, a slowing down of economic growth, higher prices, a decline in consumer sentiment, and a destabilization of the United States’ role in the global economy. The adverse economic impact of an escalating global trade war due to both the expected tit-for-tat retaliations from U.S. trading partners and potential further Trump administration actions in response to these is also certain to be felt. The economic uncertainty and unpredictability on the world market that the trade policies will trigger could have negative ramifications as well.

In recent weeks leading up to this array of new April 2nd tariffs, we have already seen how President Trump’s back-and-forth trade policy actions and reversals have wreaked havoc on the global market – something that will continue to be the case with further retaliations and countermeasures moving forward. The inconsistent trade policies and on-again, off-again tariff threats have prompted notable concern and volatility among the market and American importers, while rattling business and consumer confidence. This uncertainty has even propelled some Congressional Republicans like U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to join many Democrats in expressing opposition to Trump’s tariffs, with Collins noting how her state of Maine’s economy is closely integrated with that of Canada’s and that thus the Trump measures will cause serious disruptions for both Canada and the United States. While it remains to be seen which countries will be most affected by Trump’s new tariffs and to what extent, commentators have predicted that nations such as Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Ireland, India, Italy, Thailand, Switzerland, Sweden, and others will be among these due to the size of the United States’ trade deficit in goods with them.

Economists foresee the growing likelihood of a recession, higher prices, a stagnation in growth, and reduced consumer sentiment because of the new tariffs. As one argued, “This is how you sabotage the world’s economic engine while claiming to supercharge it…The tariffs push prices higher on thousands of everyday goods – from phones to food – and that will fuel inflation.” Recent surveys also seem to align with this skepticism regarding the tariffs. According to a CBS News poll with the collaboration of YouGov, a majority of respondents, 55%, agree that the Trump administration is focusing too much on the placing of tariffs, and 64% believe that it is not focusing enough on lowering prices instead. The survey also revealed a significant drop-off in the percentage of Americans who feel that Trump’s policies are making them financially better off. Back in January, 42% felt they were better off and 28% felt they were worse off financially. Now, just a few months later, only 23% believe that they are better off, while 42% think they are worse off than before. Another poll, conducted by AP-NORC, demonstrated that 60% of Americans disagree with Trump’s handling of trade negotiations with other countries, and 58% also disapprove of his handling of the economy as well. The climate surrounding the state of the economy and the unease over the prospect of an exacerbating trade war appear to be key factors that are playing a role in fueling this shift in sentiment.

President Trump’s rollout of new tariffs has seen the U.S. stock market suffer its worst day yesterday since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic back in mid-2020. The markets had already been reeling coming into this week in the lead-up to Trump’s Wednesday array of tariffs announcement, as both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had recorded their worst quarter in years due to the growing uncertainty around the potential impact of the Trump trade policies and reversals. The shares of several multinational companies also tumbled significantly, with powerhouses like Nike and Apple dropping 14% and 9%, respectively. Unsurprisingly, in light of the news of the new tariffs, major sellers of imported goods were among those hit the hardest as well.

Diplomatically, the array of new tariffs and expected retaliations, on top of possible further Trump measures in response to the latter, are sure to hinder relations between the United States and countries around the world. A number of nations have vowed to initiate countermeasures of their own, which have raised concern that an escalating tit-for-tat trade war could devastate the global economy. One of the most noteworthy retaliations thus far has come from China, which has announced that it will match President Trump’s plan for 34% tariffs on goods with its own equal tariff percentage on imports from the United States. The new Chinese countermeasures include restrictions on American companies as well, as it added various U.S. entities to an export control list and placed more than ten on what it deems an “unreliable entity” list. In addition to China, it is anticipated that others like Canada and the European Union will also likely initiate impactful retaliatory measures against the United States. With the new reciprocal U.S. tariffs not officially kicking in until April 9th, countries have a handful of days to either try and cut a deal with the Trump administration or respond with retaliations of their own.