David Cameron was asked outright by a journalist if the government’s controversial Rwanda bill is a result of the UK’s departure from the EU.
Speaking shortly after parliament finally passed the legislation to deport asylum seekers to Africa on Monday night, the foreign secretary defended the policy – but dodged the questions about his main legacy, Brexit.
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ITV News’ deputy political editor Anushka Asthana asked: “Hand on heart, if this had come up when you were PM, would you have gone for this policy?”
Cameron, who was in No.10 from 2010 to 2016, said: “Well, we had a totally different situation, because we had a situation where we could return people directly to France.
“Now I would love that to be the case again – that’s the most sensible thing.
“People land on a beach in Kent, you take them straight back to France, you therefore break the model of the people smugglers.”
“Shouldn’t you be trying to get that?” Asthana asked.
“Well, that’s not available,” the foreign secretary replied.
The journalist asked: “Because of Brexit?”
Cameron ended up resigning as prime minister in 2016 because his campaign to stay in the EU lost.
He did not answer Asthana directly and just said: “Well, because of the situation we’re in.”
The foreign secretary did not explain what he meant by that.
Cameron told Asthana that the UK has to deal with illegal immigration, but added: “I don’t think it’s necessary to leave the ECHR, I don’t think that needs to happen to make this policy work.”
Kim Kardashian does not have six toes, but she did confirm a few other details about herself on Jimmy Kimmel’s US talk show on Monday night — and a handful are pretty kooky.
Near the end of their chat, Jimmy decided to ask the Skims owner if a few “interesting” rumours about her were true or not.
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The reality TV star was game, and Kim confirmed two pretty banal facts about herself: She knows how to change a tire, and she washes her feet every night before going to bed.
But she also admitted that she blow-dries her jewellery before putting it on.
“Because I hate being freezing,” Kim explained. “And when you put on cold jewellery or like anything with a zipper — I just need it warm.”
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Some of Kimmel’s most popular comedy bits include “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets,” “Lie Witness News,” “Unnecessary Censorship,” “Halloween Candy YouTube Challenge,” and music videos like “I (Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum.”","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":"641"},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QlBI5Q1Vn14/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Kim Kardashian on Living Next to Madonna, Push-Up Bra with Nipples & Which Online Rumors are True","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlBI5Q1Vn14","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6628bd97e4b00ea555a590c0","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kim-kardashian-confirms-weird-rumours_uk_6628bd97e4b00ea555a590c0","entryTagsList":"uk-celebrity,kim-kardashian,@us_huffpost_now,@widget-imported","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":1},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_slideshow":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6628bd97e4b00ea555a590c0","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":" uk celebrity","slug":"uk-celebrity","links":{"relativeLink":"news/uk-celebrity","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/uk-celebrity","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/uk-celebrity"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/uk-celebrity/"},{"name":"kim kardashian","slug":"kim-kardashian","links":{"relativeLink":"news/kim-kardashian","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kim-kardashian","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kim-kardashian"},"relegenceId":5912627,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kim-kardashian/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["
OK, sure, we kind of get that, but nothing can explain the weirdest tidbit Kim confirmed — which is that she makes someone else take the cardboard sleeve off her Starbucks coffee because she hates the sound the cardboard makes.
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“Yes … and I hate the feeling,” Kim admitted.
She said she doesn’t even like watching the sleeve come off.
“The cardboard getting moved off the cup is like nails on a chalkboard to me,” she explained.
Most of the rumours Jimmy mentioned turned out to be accurate — except the myth that she has six toes, which was at least one thing she was able to debunk.
“Were some of these not supposed to be true, but they really are, and you guys didn’t know?” she joked.
Elsewhere on Monday’s edition of Jimmy’s, Kim did admit that she once made a workout video with an extremely cheesy name. Check out the video above!
In a Life In Looks video interview to accompany Vogue France’s May issue, the French-Canadian chanteuse described her surprise appearance as “very nerve-wracking, but at the same time, a big honour,” and later gushed about the “magic” and “excitement” of returning to show business once more.
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And as it turns out, the much-discussed mustard yellow Valentino coat she wore over her pale-pink gown served a very specific, and emotional, purpose.
“I was like, ‘I can walk onstage with a coat?’ Oh, yeah! You can do whatever you want in fashion. Have a good time, wear that coat, own that coat, go for it,” Celine explained.
“And it made me feel better for a moment to hold onto this coat, to hide myself a little bit from all these little things.”
She then broke into a song with a few impromptu lines from her 2019 single Imperfections, which appeared on her most recent album, Courage.
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Watch Celine Dion’s Life In Looks interview with Vogue below. Her remarks on the Grammy Awards begin around the 12:04 mark:
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The \"Queen of Power Ballads\" reminisces about her wedding to René, \"looking good\" in red at the Tonys, taking the stage at the Academy Awards for \"Titanic,\" wearing a replica ‘Heart of The Ocean’ in Paris in 2019, and more. \r\n\r\nDirector: Elina Street\r\nDirector of Photography: Alexa Carroll\r\nEditors: Katie Wolford, Evan Allan\r\nDevelopment Lead: Louise des Ligneris\r\nSocial & Video Editor At-Large: Hugo Compain\r\nProducer, Vogue: Amaury Delcambre\r\nAssociate Producer: Lea Donenberg\r\nProduction: PRODn\r\nAssistant Director: Natalia Loff\r\nCamera Operator: Alice Boucherie\r\nAssistant Camera: Melanie St. Clair\r\nGaffer: Ariel Nehorayoff\r\nAudio: Edwin Diagon\r\nSet Designer: Elaine Winter\r\nSet Design Assistant: Aidan Lapp\r\nProduction Coordinator: Ava Kashar\r\nProduction Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors\r\nLine Producer: Romeeka Powell\r\nSenior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier\r\nAssistant Editor: Justin Symonds\r\nPost Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant\r\nSupervising Editor: Erica DeLeo\r\nPost Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch\r\nSenior Talent Manager: Adèle Ligerot\r\nDirector, Video, Condé Nast France: Thomas Leroy\r\nDirector of Content, Production: Rahel Gebreyes\r\nSenior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson\r\nVP, Digital Video English: Thespena Guatieri\r\nSpecial Thanks: Youssef Marquis, Entertainment and VIP consultant\r\n\r\n00:00 – “We’re rolling, everybody.”\r\n00:23 – 1991 – Television Concert Special\r\n01:22 – 1994 – Wedding to René Angélil\r\n03:37 – 1997 – 51st Annual Tony Awards\r\n04:17 – 1998 – 70th Annual Academy Awards\r\n06:38 – 1999 – 71st Annual Academy Awards\r\n07:21 – 2003 – VH1 Diva Duets\r\n08:08 – 2017 – Paris\r\n08:44 – 2017 – Billboard Music Awards\r\n09:21 – 2017 – Céline Dion Takes Paris Vogue Video\r\n09:40 – 2019 – Moulin Rouge\r\n10:06 – 2019 – Met Gala “Camp: Notes on Fashion”\r\n11:02 – 2019 – Paris\r\n12:06 – 2024 – 66th Annual Grammy Awards\n\nStill haven’t subscribed to Vogue on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/vogueyoutubesub\r\nGet the best of Vogue delivered right in your inbox ►► https://bit.ly/3xAZyQg\r\nWant to hear more from our editors? Subscribe to the magazine ►► http://bit.ly/2wXh1VW\r\nCheck out ‘The Run-Through with Vogue’ podcast ►► https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-run-through-with-vogue/id1526206712\r\n \r\nVogue YouTube Channels:\r\n\r\nBritish Vogue: https://www.youtube.com/@britishvogue\r\nVogue Taiwan: https://www.youtube.com/@voguetvtaiwan\r\nVogue France: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueFrance\r\nVogue India: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueIndia\r\nVogue Japan: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueJapan\r\nVogue México y Latinoamérica: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueMexicoyLatinoamerica\r\nVogue Germany: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueGermany\r\nVogue Italia: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueItalia\r\nVogue Spain: https://www.youtube.com/@VogueSpain\r\n\r\nABOUT VOGUE\r\nVogue is the authority on fashion news, culture trends, beauty coverage, videos, celebrity style, and fashion week updates.","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 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Celine was greeted with a standing ovation as she walked out onstage ― accompanied by her 23-year-old son, René-Charles Angélil ― during the final moments of the Grammys in February, where she presented Taylor Swift with the award for Album Of The Year.
It was one of just a handful of public appearances that Celine has made in several years, and by far the most high-profile.
In December 2022, the five-time Grammy winner announced she’d been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological condition that has impacted both her livelihood and ability to perform live.
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Speaking to Vogue France in an interview, Celine stressed that she hadn’t “beat the disease,” noting that she undergoes a regimen of “athletic, physical and vocal therapy” each week
Celine Dion, backstage at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February.
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
“The way I see it, I have two choices,” she explained. “Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself. I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be.”
As for a possible return to the concert stage and the recording studio, Celine appeared optimistic but did not specify a time frame.
“As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’ I don’t know … My body will tell me,” she said.
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“On the other hand, I don’t just want to wait. It’s morally hard to live from day to day. It’s hard, I’m working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there’s one thing that will never stop, and that’s the will. It’s the passion. It’s the dream. It’s the determination.”
For now, fans hoping to catch more of Celine can check out her forthcoming Amazon Prime Video documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
Due out on 25 June, the film promises an in-depth look at the singer’s “journey toward living an open and authentic life amidst illness”.
On Monday evening, it was revealed that TikTok fave Charley Marlowe will serve as the narrator for I Kissed A Girl when it debuts next month.
“You lot are in for a bloody treat, because I’m going to be the voice of I Kissed A Girl, the UK’s first ever dating show for girls who like girls,” Charley said in an announcement.
“Although you won’t be seeing me on your screens, I did audition and I did in fact get pied for being too sexy. But never fear, we’ve got 10 single girls ready to mingle and one iconic host.”
And on the subject of that “iconic host” – Dannii Minogue will once again be on presenting duties, after winning praise from viewers for her work on I Kissed A Boy.
I Kissed A Girl will premiere on the BBC iPlayer on Sunday 5 May. Episodes will also be airing on BBC Three at 9pm on Sunday and Monday nights.
Eric Trump’s latest defence of his dad Donald Trump — who is currently on trial in his hush money case — went awry as he made one major mistake.
The Trump scion on Monday told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that, “Every time I watch my father walk into that courtroom it breaks my heart because they [the Democrats] will stop at nothing […] to take the man down and no one believes this nonsense, right?”
Eric Trump complained about his four-times-indicted dad being brought to trial so close to the 2024 election and suggested, without evidence, that it was only because he was “winning in the polls” as presumptive Republican nominee.
Then he claimed, “My father was focused on running the United States of America, not bookkeeping, not there was anything done wrong in the bookkeeping.”
But Trump is charged with 34 felony counts over the alleged falsification of business records to cover up $130,000 (£105,000) paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels — before the 2016 election – so that she wouldn’t reveal an alleged affair.
In other words, the allegations stem from when Trump was not, as his son put it, yet “running the United States of America.”
A Tory minister was left squirming this morning as he was shown evidence that the government’s Rwanda plan is not stopping asylum seekers from crossing the Channel.
Michael Tomlinson was told the migrants were “not being deterred” despite parliament finally passing a bill which could see them being deported to the east African country.
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Rishi Sunak has insisted the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which is due to become law later today, will ultimately lead to him meeting his pledge to “stop the boats” making the perilous crossing from France to the UK.
But BBC Breakfast this morning broadcast live footage of asylum seekers trying to set off on the dangerous journey.
Tomlinson, who is the minister for illegal migration, was told by presenter John Kay: “It has been the case that people crossing the Channel for a year or so have known that they could be sent to Rwanda and yet what we’re seeing right now on our screens this morning are people still prepared to take that risk. They are not deterred.”
Asylum seekers preparing to cross the Channel this morning.
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The minister admitted: “You’re broader point is right. We haven’t stopped the boats, but the prime minister is determined to ensure that we do stop the boats and that’s why we were determined to get the bill through parliament.
“We need to see the planes get off the ground. Once we see the planes take off, then we will see the deterrent effect.”
Figures released by the Home Office yesterday showed that the numbers crossing the Channel so far this year have increased by 24% compared to the same period in 2023.
In a statement this morning, the prime minister said: “We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.
“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.
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“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”
On her new album’s title track, The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor sings: “I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas / I’m not Patti Smith / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel / We’re modern idiots’.”
In response, the New York counterculture icon posted a black-and whit- Instagram photo of herself smiling behind a copy of Dylan Thomas’ Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog.
“This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas,” she captioned the post. “Thank you, Taylor.”
While Patti and Taylor may seem worlds apart, the Horses artist talked about sympathising with the Reputation singer in a 2019 profile for the New York Times.
Asked if artists like Taylor should be more politically engaged in the era of Donald Trump, Patti said: “She’s a pop star who’s under tremendous scrutiny all the time, and one can’t imagine what that’s like. It’s unbelievable to not be able to go anywhere, do anything, have messy hair.”
“And I’m sure that she’s trying to do something good,” the singer and former muse of Robert Mapplethorpe went on.
“She’s not trying to do something bad. And if it influences some of her avid fans to open up their thoughts, what does it matter?”
Last month, Patti gave her seal of approval to another modern pop star, when she co-signed Dua Lipa’s spot on Time’s annual list of 100 Most Influential People.
He denied all claims against him. A Tory Party investigation found he had not misused funds because he had taken money from a group outside of the main Conservative remit.
However, the Sky News presenter still pressed foreign minister Andrew Mitchell over the messy incident.
Burley asked: “What most offended you about [Mark Menzies]′ actions?
“Was it the misuse of funds, was it his questionable behaviour over many years or was it [him] asking a member of his team to go to a potential crime scene, with a bag load of cash, where she was already told, ‘bad men are inside’?”
Mitchell replied: “I’ve been in Washington until yesterday doing my job as the minister for international development.”
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Burley refused to take that as answer, only for Mitchell to say: “I’m not fully conversant with all the details.”
“Well, you should be,” the presenter noted.
Mitchell continued: “What I am clear about is that the Conservative Party has properly investigated this matter.
“It’s done it in a timely way, which respects the rights of all parties, lessons will be learnt.”
Burley asked again: “Are you more offended by the funds or the fact that a junior member of his team was told to go with a bag-load of cash where she had been told bad men were inside? That’s disgraceful.”
“I don’t think his actions were those one has the right to expect from a member of parliament and that is why he no longer has the whip and is no longer a member of the Conservative Party,” Mitchell said.
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Burley pushed: “Should he step down altogether or are you quite relieved that he’s waiting until the next election so there’s not another by-election?”
Mitchell said that was not a matter for the Tories anymore.
#KayBurley: What most offended you about Mark Menzies actions… the misuse of funds, questionable behaviour over many years or him asking a member of his team to go to a potential crime scene…?
Burley said: “So you’re very happy that the party have handled this in exactly the right way?”
Mitchell just replied that the party has handled it in a “way that handles the rights of the individuals” involved, and that he does not “criticise the party over the speed with which it handled this”.
“Would you expect a Conservative aide to have to behave in this manner, taking a bag load of cash to a place that isn’t safe?” Burley asked again.
Mitchell replied: “That is why we are looking at the issue of a whistleblowers’ rights, and doing a retraining of those in the Conservative Association to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Sabrina ended her performance on Saturday with a rendition of her hit Nonsense – including a rewritten version of the song’s outro with new lyrics that reference Barry’s film Saltburn.
“Made his knees so weak he had to spread mine, he’s drinking my bath water like it’s red wine,” she said.
The new lyric, of course, references one of Barry’s most iconic Saltburn scenes, in which his character Oliver Quick drinks the remnants of his friend Felix Catton’s bath water from a drain, after spotting him masturbating in the tub.
Sabrina and Barry were first rumoured to be an item at the end of last year.
Back in January, it was reported in the press that they had been planning to “hard launch” their relationship at the Golden Globes, where he was a nominee.
Before his rumoured romance with Sabrina, Barry was in a relationship with orthodontic therapist Alyson Kierans, with whom he shares a one-year-old son, Brando.
As well as Barry-related lyrics, Sabrina’s rewritten Nonsense outro ended: “Coachella see you back here when I headline.”
As open fighting between two of the Middle East’s best-armed players worsens, more than a million Palestinian lives hang in the balance.
Israel on Thursday attacked Iran, in retaliation for an April 13 attack from Iranian drones and missiles, which was itself a retaliation for the Israeli bombing of an Iranian consulate on April 1.
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Iran downplayed the significance of the strike, with state media saying it caused no major damage. The US, Israel’s military lifeline, did so too. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters the Biden administration “has not been involved in any offensive operations” and seeks “de-escalation and [to] avoi[d] a larger conflict.”
The state-on-state strikes between Israel and Iran, a prospect that risks sparking an all-out war, are “over,” a regional government source argued to CNN after the latest Israeli strike, saying Iran was unlikely to respond. Multiple national security analysts agreed Israel’s move seemed carefully calibrated, ostensibly in line with the priorities of the US and of anxious neighbouring countries.
Still, the two countries indisputably moved closer to head-on conflict through their unprecedented tit-for-tat in recent weeks. “The US will celebrate a small success. But the spiral is still spinning downward: rules are being rewritten on the battlefield,” wrote Emile Hokayem, an analyst at the International institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank, on X.
As the potential for extremely costly miscalculation persists, questions remain open: Is this the full extent of Israel’s response to Iran? Will the two now continue their longstanding bids to weaken each other through clashes elsewhere, perhaps in already bruised Lebanon?
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It’s hard to see how the spiral stops until another question is answered: What about Palestine?
Rafah, the town in southern Gaza where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, is the only section of the strip Israel has yet to invade its sweeping, hugely controversial campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an attack on Rafah is vital to shield Israel from the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
Washington says it cannot support that plan without a serious strategy for evacuating and helping civilians — a strategy Israel has yet to provide, the White House confirmed in a Thursday statement, after a high-level meeting between US and Israeli officials.
The Biden administration is casting its attempt to temper the Rafah operation as distinct from its bid to prevent an Israel-Iran war. But to other observers, it’s impossible to separate the two. President Joe Biden is simultaneously the only outside world leader with the power to force a change in course for Israel, and a longtime ally of Israeli leadership who may be loath to seek their restraint, particularly as the country is in active conflict with Iran.
Calling the resurgent Israeli-Palestinian conflict “the beating heart of this increasingly regional problem,” Monica Marks, a professor at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus, told HuffPost on Friday: “The thing to watch for … is whether Netanyahu bought more wiggle room on the Biden administration’s expectation for Israel to make humanitarian plans regarding Rafah’s civilians.”
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Israel’s actions suggest it continues to see moving on Rafah as inevitable. Sources told multiple media outlets preparations had already begun, with leaflets directing civilians to flee already printed and scheduled to be dropped on Monday, though Israeli sourced told CNN the Iran attack had caused a delay. On Monday night, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant held a military briefing on Rafah, and at Thursday’s US-Israeli summit, both sides agreed discussions about the offensive would continue.
The prolonged uncertainty is chilling for civilians in Rafah, which constitutes the last remotely functional section of Gaza. The vast majority of Palestinians are barred from leaving the territory for neighbouring Egypt.
Describing widespread anticipation of an Israeli ground invasion and “constant anxiety due to the ongoing airstrikes,” Ghada Alhaddad told HuffPost she has witnessed panicked civilians Rafah to try to return to other parts of Gaza, only to find little but wreckage there.
“The lingering sense of fear has left many unsure of where to go next,” said Alhaddad, who works for the charity Oxfam.
Displaced Palestinian children line up to receive food in Rafah on April 19, 2024.
MOHAMMED ABED via Getty Images
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As decision-makers in governments remain vague about their plans, the outside players helping Palestinians survive amid food shortages, bombardment and displacement fear the worst. Representatives of five major aid groups told HuffPost this week that even the meager support they are able to currently provide to Palestinians would plummet if Rafah is attacked, and they have yet to see either realistic plans for addressing the civilian toll of an assault or effective Israeli steps to bolster humanitarian relief for Gaza. Biden has pushed harder for increased aid since an Israeli attack killed seven relief workers on April 1.
“The conditions for us to provide an adequate humanitarian response are not there right now – let alone if the conditions become more challenging because we don’t have access to Rafah and people are put into a catastrophic situation,” said Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson who returned from a visit to Gaza on Monday.
Scott Paul of Oxfam America told HuffPost he and his colleagues fear geopolitical discussions will distract from measures to protect Palestinians, at least 34,000 of whom have been killed since Israel’s offensive began.
“There’s a widespread concern that it will be difficult to deescalate regional tensions and keep the focus on a population on the brink of famine,” Paul said. “We’re very worried that Palestinians will get the short end of the stick.”
Seeking anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations, a source at a humanitarian organisation said they had little faith in the US to moderate Israel’s approach to Rafah.
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“You just can’t look to the Biden administration for signals, because the Israelis have proven time and again that just because assurances are given to the US side doesn’t mean they’re going to be held to them,” said the source. They described aid groups as in “purgatory” as conditions for Palestinians decline and as the trajectory of the conflict remains unclear, and said Israel is deploying “a purposeful level of ambiguity.”
Spokespeople at Israel’s embassy in Washington and for the White House National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Known Knowns
Experts surveyed by HuffPost this week described three certainties for Israel, the Biden administration and the prospects of limiting Palestinian suffering.
Israel remains determined to pursue Hamas in Rafah beyond the attacks it has already launched on the town — most recently, an airstrike on April 18 that killed 10 members of a family, including five children.
Within Israel, there is popular dissatisfaction with Netanyahu over issues like his failing to bring home Israeli hostages captured in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, that initiated the current fighting. But worsening tensions with Iran could bolster Israelis’ feeling that security should be the country’s top priority.
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Tackling the group’s remaining forces in Rafah is “necessary,” argued Neomi Neumann, the former head of research at the Israeli Security Agency, or Shin Bet.
“If we don’t deal with this, Hamas will manage every time to revitalise and become strong — this is the oxygen for Hamas,” said Neumann, now a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, referring to Israel’s fears that Hamas will resupply itself through Gaza’s southern border region with Egypt.
Iran is a “danger,” she said, but “at the same time, we need to finish the Gaza issue.”
To “demilitarise the Gaza Strip,” Israel could use non-military means, Neumann noted, like using political agreements and technological safeguards along with Egypt and the US, and bringing in the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu and Israeli hardliners see PA rule in Gaza as unacceptable, casting the body as corrupt and Palestinian autonomy in the region as a “reward for terror,” but Neumann called it “the least bad option,” compared to Hamas or direct Israeli control of the strip.
The Biden administration has pinned its hopes on the PA and argues it can be reformed.
There’s a reason to be skeptical of how firm the US will be on the PA and related American plans for the region: its track record.
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Throughout his career, and particularly since October 7, Biden has prioritised backing Israel. Critics say this has made him unwilling to deploy US leverage to prevent Israeli violations of human rights and other destabilising actions. But as Israel enters a new level of conflict with Iran — widely seen in American politics as an enemy country — Biden may prove especially deferential to Netanyahu.
“I think the US will have to sit harder on Israel to totally prevent any Rafah invasion,” said Marks of NYU.
The revival of hawkish talk about Tehran since its strike on Israel has already made it “that much harder to push the Israelis toward compliance” with international law “and to create pressure” on aid-related issues, argued the humanitarian organisation source.
“Can the Biden administration and Congress find a way to stop Israel’s war in Gaza and scale a humanitarian response in Gaza while enabling [Israelis] to defend themselves against Iran? Sure, if they properly staffed up and stopped half-measures, they could walk and chew gum,” the source said. “For now, it looks like the latter may take priority over the former.”
But Biden’s oft-stated resistance to a regional conflict could yet convince his team they must halt an Israeli offensive.
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“The administration has been pretty consistently holding the line on Rafah because they know it’s a game-changer,” said Matt Duss, the executive vice president of the Center for International Policy think tank. “Biden’s policy has been to try and keep the catastrophe contained within Gaza. It’s an indefensibly callous and dangerous policy, but they’ve been consistent about it.”
Egypt, which worked with Israel to impose a years-long blockade on Gaza, has repeatedly warned Israel and the US about a Rafah assault, fearing it would push Palestinians to cross the Egyptian border en masse. Other US-aligned governments in the region, like Jordan, are facing domestic pro-Palestinian activism that has made some officials worried about the stability of their regimes.
The third reality: Too little humanitarian aid is getting to people who need it in Gaza, and the flow is increasing too slowly, despite some claims of progress.
Israeli authorities have touted an increase in how many trucks of supplies they permitted into Gaza this month through the two currently open crossings into the region, at which Israeli personnel inspect all incoming material.
On Friday, top White House Middle East official Brett McGurk told a public briefing with Jewish Americans there have been “pretty significant changes” in Israel’s treatment of aid — an assessment that was not shared by any of the aid workers HuffPost for this story.
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“We’re interested in outputs, not inputs, which to say is the lowering of malnutrition. … We’re interested in no civilian casualties, we’re interested in no indiscriminate bombing. Those are the outputs we’re interested in, and the administration signalled they’re also interested in those things,” said Bill O’Keefe of the charity Catholic Relief Services. “We want to make sure they don’t just get caught up in inputs: there have been some increased trucks, that’s great, but there have been increased trucks before, and then that comes down.”
And on April 9, United Nations spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters that Israel was counting half-full trucks that enter its screening sites — not the number of repacked, fully-loaded trucks that actually enter Gaza, which aid workers believe to be lower.
Meanwhile, multiple humanitarian officials told HuffPost they have no more details about plans for two additional points for supplying aid to Palestinians — the Erez land crossing and the Ashdod port — two weeks after Netanyahu’s cabinet approved their use.
The road leading from Erez to populated parts of northern Gaza requires extensive repairs before it can be used, and Israel has not greenlighted the opening of another land route, at Karni, Marks said. Meanwhile, Israel’s one currently open crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, is closed on weekends. Calls for increased staffing and screening capacity there have yet to be answered, several aid workers said; neither have appeals for Israel to ease its policy of refusing to let in many aid supplies on the grounds that they’re “dual-use” and could also be used by militants.
Global attention “needs to be not on volume but types of aid and services: Can you get in tubing to do nasal feeding, the right types of food, staff to access clinics?” Marks added. “We still haven’t had that kind of results-based response, as opposed to volume-based.”
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Israel could, for instance, make an immediate difference by restarting electricity supplies to Gaza, Paul noted.
Several humanitarian officials also described continued challenges in transporting equipment and personnel to northern Gaza, where famine is already underway.
UNICEF struggled to send fuel and food north from Rafah last week in convoys Ingram participated in, she said, as authorities delayed trucks in holding areas and directed them to a heavily congested route. Israeli officials also maintain extremely limited hours at the checkpoint separating southern Gaza from the north.
“These curfews, we run up against them all the time,” Ingram continued. Once she did reach the north on Sunday, she was appalled: “People were approaching our vehicles, fingers to the mouth. We went to Kamal Adwan hospital, which is treating malnourished children. … It is cruel that this is being inflicted on children when there is food and nutrition treatments and other aid.”
‘Undo Everything’
An Israeli attack on Rafah would force many traumatised Palestinians to abandon what little refuge they have found.
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Abood Okal, a Palestinian American who spent weeks in Rafah with his wife and child before being permitted to leave on November 2, told HuffPost his sister Eman, her husband and their three children are now living in the space where the Okals had been staying.
They share a bathroom with 40 other people in a distant family friend’s house and can only communicate with their relatives every 3-4 days, when Eman is able to get a network signal.
Conditions in the other places Palestinians could flee to resemble those where Okal’s other sister, Asma, is staying: in a small tent in Al Mawasi, an overwhelmed coastal community where thousands of families from Rafah may move amid an Israeli offensive. Her children have contracted hepatitis A, one of many diseases that are spreading rapidly in Gaza, and she can only communicate with the outside world around once every two weeks, Okal said.
Soraya Ali of Save the Children, who visited Gaza earlier this month, told HuffPost she saw how people are living beyond Rafah in Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza. She witnessed a makeshift toilet facility shared by 200 people, dozens of people living in “unbearably hot” improvised “tents” crafted from plastic, sticks and tarpaulin and children spending their days roaming the streets seeking food and water.
In Khan Yunis, another town north of Rafah, the streets are full of unexploded bombs and Israeli attacks have destroyed infrastructure that was functioning a few months ago, said Ingram, who visited last week. “It is unrealistic to imagine that somebody could move back there and be safe,” she told HuffPost.
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Additionally, people who have been living in Rafah and would now consider moving have already endured overcrowding and shortages of essentials for months. Oxfam’s Alhaddad mentioned one example: She has run out of heart medication for her mother.
“You’re starting already weakened,” O’Keefe said. Relocating civilians, he said, is a matter of providing not just food or shelter (which the Israeli military appears to be working on, by ordering tens of thousands of tents) but also water, sanitation and health equipment.
“We do not see how to safely provide for those people in order to allow for some sort of invasion of Rafah,” he added.
For humanitarian groups, major fighting in Rafah would make providing assistance to Palestinians nearly impossible.
It’s the “only place there is a semblance of an aid response,” Ali said. “If a ground incursion happens in Rafah, it would undo everything.”
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Since the start of the war, aid organisations have developed storage and distribution facilities there, as well as accommodations for visiting staff serving Gaza’s population.
Between the added disruption to civilians’ lives and the worsening lack of aid supplies, full-on fighting in Rafah “would be the deadliest chapter of this conflict yet,” Ali said.
