The Biden administration has for weeks been calling on Israel to refrain from launching a major ground offensive in Rafah. Reuters
The Biden administration has for weeks been calling on Israel to refrain from launching a major ground offensive in Rafah. Reuters
The Biden administration has for weeks been calling on Israel to refrain from launching a major ground offensive in Rafah. Reuters
The Biden administration has for weeks been calling on Israel to refrain from launching a major ground offensive in Rafah. Reuters

Biden draws 'red line' on Rafah assault but it remains unclear if he will follow through


Jihan Abdalla
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

In a marked shift in tone, US President Joe Biden said this week that he would block the delivery of weapons to Israel that could be used in Rafah, the densely populated southern city in Gaza where more than a million Palestinians have taken shelter.

The comments, made during an interview late on Wednesday, were the first time that Mr Biden has publicly said he would use US arms to try to influence how Israel wages its seven-month war in Gaza.

“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically,” he told CNN.

“It’s just wrong. We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

Until now, Mr Biden, a long-time supporter of Israel, had resisted calls to put conditions on military aid to the country, even as the death toll in Gaza – at more than 34,900 according to local authorities – continues to rise and a humanitarian crisis worsens.

His remarks highlighted the growing rift between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They also underscored the high stakes for Mr Biden, who is running for re-election and facing intense domestic and international pressure to do more to end the bloodshed.

“He’s drawn a pretty clear red line in the sand,” Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist, told The National. “Based on his past history, I am frankly shocked that he made these comments.

“This goes against everything he said for years, which leads me to suggest he's very troubled by what he's seeing.”

The Biden administration has for weeks been calling on Israel to refrain from launching a major ground offensive in Rafah, arguing it would pose a significant risk to the roughly 1.5 million displaced Palestinian civilians, many of whom are living in tents.

An invasion of Rafah, the White House said, also threatens already fraught international efforts to bring about a six-week ceasefire.

“Any kind of major Rafah ground operation would actually strengthen Hamas's hands at the negotiating table, not Israel's. That's our view,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists on Thursday.

Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza on October 7, after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking scores hostage, according to local authorities.

The US is by far the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, sending more than $3.3 billion in military funding annually, with more on the way.

The 1,000kg bombs that Israel has been dropping in Gaza came from the US, with Mr Biden acknowledging that they had been used to kill civilians.

Still, Mr Biden has shrugged off domestic pressures to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, even as dozens of protest camps have sprung up on university campuses across the US, with student chants and signs calling the President “Genocide Joe”.

“The people here in the United States, who are frustrated at the President over his failure to do this, are asking the same question: Why did it take so long?” Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel programme at the Arab Centre in Washington, told The National.

“Obviously, those who are vehemently pro-Israel are going to be upset about this, so politically, it didn't make sense to wait this long to do it either.

“And, of course, we don't really know if he's going to follow through.”

In the interview, Mr Biden pledged to continue to provide Israel with the weapons it needs to defend itself.

Still, the move has already drawn intense criticism from Israel's far-right government and conservatives in Washington, who said it could be grounds for impeachment.

Meanwhile, a defiant Mr Netanyahu has said he would go ahead with invading Rafah, with or without US support.

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THE%20FLASH
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Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours 
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
India team for Sri Lanka series

Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan

Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Teams

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh12 million

Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto

Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm

Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

SCORES IN BRIEF

Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).

Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 290hp

Torque: 340Nm

Price: Dh155,800

On sale: now

Company%20profile%20
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Updated: May 10, 2024, 7:15 AM`