A twin crisis is unfolding for the Biden administration as the US tax-payer-funded Ukrainian military bombs key crude refineries deep within Russian territory with suicide drones. The administration has pleaded with the Ukrainians to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, as this will only contribute to tightening global supplies and pushing energy prices higher, as well as inflation in the US, hurting Biden’s re-election odds.
Now for the other crisis that’s unfolding in the Middle East: US Vice President Kamala Harris told ABC’s “This Week” that a major attack on the Gazan city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge, “would be a huge mistake.”
“We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” Harris said.
She added: “I have studied the maps – there’s nowhere for those folks to go. And we’re looking at about a million and a half people in Rafah who are there because they were told to go there.”
Harris was asked whether there would be “consequences” from the US on an Israeli counteroffensive in Rafah. She responded, “I am ruling out nothing.”
This comes as The Jerusalem Post said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials say an operation into the southern Gazan city is “imminent.”
Bloomberg quoted Israeli intelligence that estimates about 5,000 to 8,000 Hamas fighters are in Rafah.
