Biden's belated red line for Israel—and the scene at a Rafah maternity hospital

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     May 9, 2024 There was a big change in policy recently. President Biden [told]( CNN on Wednesday that he will stop shipping certain weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceeds with a major ground invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced. "I made it clear that if they go into Rafah...I’m not supplying the weapons," Biden told CNN's Erin Burnett. This wasn't just an off-the-cuff remark. White House Spokesperson John Kirby [added]( today that Biden does not believe "smashing into Rafah" will help take out Hamas. But Netanyahu seemed to fire back at Biden's threats, [saying](, "If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone." What would an invasion of Rafah mean for Palestinians? This afternoon, I spoke by phone with Bridget Rochios, a certified nurse-midwife from California volunteering at Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital in Rafah. The hospital, Rochios told me, has seen a massive influx of patients, going from about 70 births a month before the war began to now 80 or 85 births a day. They're also running dangerously low on all supplies—even basic ones, like gloves, scissors, and pain medication for vaginal births—now that Israel has seized the Rafah border crossing, which has been a vital passage for bringing aid into Gaza. And, tragically, the lives of 50 newborns in the hospital's intensive care unit are hanging in the balance: If Israel pushes forward with its invasion and the hospital is ordered to evacuate, none of those babies would survive transportation, Rochios said. "People are really afraid about what’s going on," she told me. "We’ve seen [what has happened]( systematically [to the health care systems throughout Gaza](," Rochios added. "So everybody’s kind of waiting with bated breath." [Please read and share]( my full conversation with Rochios to understand what people—that is, pregnant women, newborns, and hospital workers—are facing on the ground in Rafah. —Julianne McShane Advertisement [Minority Rule]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [A Nurse on the Scene Inside Rafah’s Last Maternity Hospital]( As Israel prepares to invade, the lives of 50 newborns in the hospital's intensive care unit hang in the balance. BY JULIANNE MCSHANE SPONSORED CONTENT BY HEIFER INTERNATIONAL   Your Gift, Their Future: Generate 5X the Change! Heifer International is a global nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. As families face rising costs, you can help them succeed. This month, a group of donors is matching every donation making your gift transform 5X the lives of families in need. [Don’t miss this limited-time match opportunity!]( [Trending] [Can Michael Flynn help put a January 6 rioter in Congress?]( BY STEPHANIE MENCIMER   [Republican-led states across the country are copying Texas' radical anti-immigration law]( BY ISABELA DIAS   [A gay couple is suing New York City over IVF denial]( BY PEMA LEVY   [Report: Trump promised to scrap climate laws if US oil bosses donated $1 billion]( BY ED PILKINGTON Advertisement [Minority Rule]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Minority rule is threatening American democracy like never before]( The Founding Fathers planted a bomb in the Constitution. Donald Trump lit the fuse. BY ARI BERMAN MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   An important update on our finances We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals—and we can’t sustain coming up short on [donations]( month after month. It is [impossibly hard]( in the news business right now, and the [crisis]( facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. Neither is Mother Jones. Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and [joined forces]( with the Center for Investigative Reporting, which creates the amazing podcast and public radio show [Reveal]( and other investigative projects. It’s going to be hard making it all work, and we simply can’t afford to fall behind our fundraising targets month after month. If you can part with even just a few bucks, [please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today](. And thank you so much to everyone who recently has. We’re grateful. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755