A few weeks ago, President Joe Biden issued an ultimatum to Israel: move forward with a wide-scale invasion of Rafah, and the United States would cease to provide offensive weapons.
On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike and a subsequent fire killed at least 45 people in a Palestinian tent city in Rafah. Soon after, Israeli tanks reached central Rafah.
Reports estimate that over one million Palestinians are currently sheltering in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
On Tuesday, White House spokesman John F. Kirby called the deaths in the airstrike "devastating," but not enough to cross Biden's "red line" and prompt a change to U.S. policy.
So Israel's incursion into Rafah continues, and the (disputed) civilian death toll continues to rise.
A writer in MSNBC (Left bias) asked if the airstrike on civilians didn't cross Biden's "red line," then "what could possibly qualify?" The attack and expected invasion of Rafah indicate that "the U.S. has lost control over its vassal state in the region" and "could be the beginning of still more violence to come." The writer concluded that the "mixed messaging and action by the administration yet again show the disarray of the Biden administration’s policy on Gaza. And it continues to prolong the war."
A writer in the New York Post Opinion (Right bias) argued Hamas is "getting just what it wanted" from the civilian deaths in an effort to turn Gaza "into a land of futile martyrdom in their jihad to destroy Israel." The writer stated Hamas’ strategy is to "Terrorize, kidnap and kill Israeli civilians — and then flee back to Gaza and hide behind Palestinian men, women and children to ensure mass casualties and garner international condemnation of Israel." The writer determined Biden is "cutting the legs off a US ally" by dissuading Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza.
This recent attack comes shortly after an announcement that the International Criminal Court's prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, for potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This announcement was rebuked by many Western leaders, furious that Israel would face such accusations.
A writer in the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) argued that for ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, "the target is not simply Israel, but also the United States." Determining that the organization is susceptible to political influence and corruption, the writer concluded, "By creating a standard in which almost any casualties lead to the indictment of elected leaders and their armies, Khan is setting the stage to tie the hands of all American leaders at a time when the liberal order is under unprecedented threat. Spluttering about 'outrage' is not enough."
A writer in Al Jazeera (Lean Left bias) outlined the "significant difference" in past ICC actions and this one, stating, "In the past, crimes against humanity charges were only ever levelled against non-Western nations... Historically too, the US and its allies have considered themselves as above the reach of international law. In the war crimes tribunals that followed the end of World War II, only the crimes of the Axis Powers (Italy, Germany and Japan) were tried. It was also held that it would not constitute a defence to argue that the Allies had done many of the same things the Axis Powers were being accused of."
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Which leaders are on the ICC's most wanted list?
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