‘Are they a herd of cattle?’: America pressed on Rafah operation amid reports Israel’s PM has approved plans
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly approved plans for a military operation in Rafah which includes the evacuation of the population.
Now all eyes are on Washington where red lines (albeit blurry ones) have been set by President Joe Biden.
Last month, the president said that Israel should not attack Rafah without “a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety” of the population there – well over a million mostly displaced people.
This past weekend, in an interview with Sky News’ US partner NBC News, Mr Biden said invading Rafah was a “red line” but he used contradictory and confusing language.
He said: “It is a red line, but I’m never gonna leave Israel. The defence of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m gonna cut off all weapons…”.
This comment prompted a blunt response from Mr Netanyahu, who said: “You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That 7 October doesn’t happen again. Never happens again.”
Israel’s military logic for going into Rafah is that the southern Gazan city is where the remaining Hamas battalions have retreated to.
The problem is, half the population of Gaza has retreated there too.
Humanitarian agencies have said that any move on Rafah would be disastrous.
Pic: Reuters
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock warned this week that it would create “a humanitarian catastrophe”.
Yesterday, in a tetchy exchange at the US State Department, spokesman Matt Miller was pressed on the forced movement of already displaced people to another part of Gaza.
Said Arikat, the Washington correspondent for the Jerusalem-based newspaper Al-Quds, asked why the Gazan people were being treated “like a herd of cattle”.
“Israel plans to direct Palestinians out of Rafah ahead of an anticipated offensive. Is that really acceptable?
“I mean, are they a herd of cattle? You keep moving them north, south, and so on?
“You keep moving them from place to place? Is that really acceptable to the Government of the United States?” he asked.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Miller replied: “Before I pass any sort of judgement, we are going to continue to do what we have said we would do, which is to look for the Government of Israel to provide a plan about how they would address the humanitarian situation in Rafah.”
He continued: “Absent having seen such a plan and seeing that such a plan is credible and can be executed and implemented, that type of operation is not one we could support.”
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Mr Arikat pushed back: “Yeah. But in principle, the notion of moving people like this – keep moving them endlessly. I don’t know for how long.
“Maybe this war will take another six months and so on. Is that something that’s fine with you?”
Mr Miller replied: “So, with respect, I will wait to see a plan.”
Here in Washington it had been assumed that any Rafah operation would take time to prepare and that Israel would provide the Americans with a plan.
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
But the American-Israeli relationship is increasingly strained.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s “Netanyahu must go” comments this week reflected a view the White House shares but can’t articulate.
Maybe a cornered, frustrated but determined Mr Netanyahu will decide now to push through Mr Biden’s blurry red line and press on with the Rafah operation.
The Hamas shift on the ceasefire talks might, despite being rejected as insufficient by Israel, buy some time.
Renewed dialogue, after weeks of nothing, opens the door to further talks and the prospect, for Israel, of hostages being returned. That would all be undermined by an assault on Rafah now.
It’s Ramadan. In the past, Israel has recognised that escalation during this holy month never ends well.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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