US envoy challenges UK stance on Gaza plan

US ambassador to Israel criticizes Keir Starmer after he condemned Israel's plan to take Gaza City's capital

US envoy attacks Starmer over WWII leadership remarks

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, used a social media post to criticize Sir Keir Starmer for his response to Israel's plan to take Gaza City. The post included provocative lines asking whether the UK would have surrendered to Nazi Germany and suggesting the UK would be speaking German if Starmer had been prime minister. Starmer had condemned the plan as wrong and urged Israel to reconsider immediately, while a No 10 spokesperson offered no additional comment on the PM's remarks.

A day earlier, Israeli authorities approved the move to target Gaza City as part of a broader escalation in the war. The decision drew criticism from within Israel and from international observers who warn about humanitarian costs. The United Nations and several European leaders pressed for caution, and Germany said it would suspend arms exports to Israel, citing concerns about the plan’s aims. The United States has not publicly condemned the move; former president Donald Trump described the question as largely up to Israel, and US officials offered limited public detail on what Washington knew about the plan when queried by UK officials.

The episode lays bare how diplomacy can become a contest of narratives even among close allies. Huckabee’s remarks push a provocative, history-laden frame into an already charged debate about wartime duty and contemporary policy. Starmer’s measured rebuke contrasts with the flaring rhetoric from a high-level American diplomat, highlighting gaps in the usual channeling of allied concerns. The incident may intensify scrutiny of how Western leaders talk about war, civilians caught in the middle, and the limits of political discourse in moments of crisis. In the longer view, the episode tests the resilience of UK-US-Israel alignment and raises questions about how public rhetoric shapes strategic choices in a volatile region.

Highlights

Diplomacy will hinge on how leaders translate tough talk into coordinated, principled action