Biden issues an ultimatum, but Netanyahu reveals a red line of his own

Biden issues an ultimatum, but Netanyahu reveals a red line of his own

Elizabeth Vaughn

Days after the Israeli Defense Forces accidentally fired on a convoy of workers from the World Central Kitchen who were distributing food in Gaza last week, killing seven, President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone. According to the White House readout of the call, Biden demanded that Israel “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers” and tied U.S. policy decisions to his administration’s assessment of “Israel’s immediate action” on those steps. 

Biden also called for an immediate ceasefire “to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.” Because nothing says solidarity quite like rewarding the enemy of your closest ally in the Middle East for using Palestinians — and American hostages — as human shields.

These demands, coming on the heels of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call for new elections in Israel as well as the U.S.’s failure to veto a UN security council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza last month, leaves many of us wondering just whose side the Biden administration is really on. 

Since the president’s initial display of support for Netanyahu in the immediate aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks, his actions show he is more interested in protecting the terrorists than the people of Israel. 

But in a Sunday interview with Politico, Netanyahu revealed he had a red line of his own: “We’ll go there [to Rafah]. We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again.”

He also told Politico he had “the tacit support of several Arab leaders for driving ahead” in the war with Hamas. “They understand that, and even agree with it quietly,” he said. “They understand Hamas is part of the Iranian terror axis.”

Netanyahu estimated the invasion of Rafah “would not take more than two months. Maybe six weeks, maybe four. … We’ve destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’s fighting terrorism battalions. And we’re close to finishing the last part in warfare.” 

In a Monday video message on X, Netanyahu said he has set a date for an invasion into Rafah. He told followers: “I received a detailed report on the [US-led ceasefire] talks in Cairo. We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.”

He added, “This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen, there is a date.”

It’s worth noting that although the IDF took full responsibility for the tragic error that triggered Biden’s offensive phone call to Netanyahu last Thursday, it may not have been all their fault. The IDF’s investigation suggests that Hamas fighters may have been involved. 

In her Monday podcast, veteran Israeli journalist Caroline Glick said that, according to an IDF report she had obtained, the WCK convoy may have been “trapped by Hamas deliberately.” 

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