By Washington asks Israel to delay Gaza ground operation to prepare for attacks on U.S. forces
Washington has asked Israel to postpone the start of its much-anticipated ground operation in the Gaza Strip in order to better prepare for potential attacks on U.S. forces across the Middle East, The New York Times reported, citing sources.
The newspaper’s sources said that the number of attacks on U.S. forces may increase after Tel Aviv green-lights sending the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into Gaza, the stronghold of Palestinian radical group Hamas. The U.S. suspects that such attacks may be carried out by regional groups backed by Iran.
According to the newspaper, the administration of Joe Biden is asking the Jewish state to postpone the operation not only for security reasons, as Washington wants to buy time to negotiate the release of hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid. The New York Times pointed out that the Biden administration is not putting forward any demands on Israel and still supports Tel Aviv’s intention to conduct a ground operation aimed at destroying Hamas. The newspaper’s sources claim that the advice to delay the start of the ground operation was passed through U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The U.S. defense chief speaks almost daily with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Galant, and the two sides discuss U.S. arms supplies and the deployment of US troops in the region. According to one of the newspaper’s sources, Austin also told the top Israeli defense official that returning the hostages was a priority for the United States.
Earlier, CNN reported that Washington had pressured Israel to delay the start of the ground operation in Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages held in the enclave. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on NBC that Israel should make its own decision whether and when to launch a ground operation, and that Washington could only give advice.
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This is a developing story that HO1 will continue to monitor.
Check back for updates.
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