The White House wants Israel to postpone its ground operation in the Gaza Strip to allow more time to negotiate the release of hostages held there by terrorists and to help them enter the Palestinian enclave, several unnamed U.S. officials told The New York Times .
The Sunday report said the Biden administration also wants to increase preparedness for possible attacks by Iranian groups on U.S. targets in the region, which it said are likely to increase as the war progresses.
A diplomatic official told The Times of Israel last week that the U.S. and European countries were urging Israel to hold back its ground operation in hopes of negotiating the release of more hostages.
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, when the terrorist group suddenly launched a ground, air and sea attack on the Jewish state. Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at cities across the country, over 2,500 gunmen crossed the border and rampaged murderously through southern areas. They slaughtered over 1,400 people – the vast majority of them civilians of all ages. They also kidnapped over 200 people, men, women and children, who they took to Gaza as prisoners.
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Hamas’ rocket fire continued into southern and central Israel, causing more deaths and injuries. About 200,000 Israelis have been displaced from both the south and the north, which has also come under fire from the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.
Israel responded with intense attacks on Hamas targets while vowing to destroy the terror group and oust it from power in Gaza, where it has ruled since 2007. Gaza civilians living in the north of the Gaza Strip have been ordered to evacuate. The IDF has also massed troops ahead of an expected ground attack.
Officials said the U.S. is not asking Israel to call off the ground invasion but is advising it to wait, and that Washington still fully supports Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas after the deadly attack.
Still, four senior Israeli defense officials told the Times that the ground offensive had been repeatedly postponed and that they did not know the reason. Two suspected that the wait was due to hostage negotiations.
Two U.S. officials told the newspaper that the delay message was conveyed to Israel through U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin, who speaks almost daily with Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant. A spokesman for Gallant declined to confirm the report to the newspaper.
In addition, US President Joe Biden spoke again with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
US President Joe Biden (left) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 18, 2023 in Tel Aviv. (Haim Zach / GPO)
A source in the prime minister’s office denied that Washington was holding Israel back, saying only: “There is no US pressure, only US support.”
Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the US, told CNN: “There’s really no pressure. They give us advice, but they don’t tell us what to do and what not to do.”
US officials confirmed this version, saying that even when Biden met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last week, the president did not express any wishes, but rather asked questions about a possible ground invasion, making it clear that this was not an open-ended conflict would act. This included questions about who would take power in Gaza once Hamas was toppled from power and how a ground attack would affect the fate of the hostages, the report said. An official said humanitarian assistance to Gaza and civilian casualties were also discussed.
The council is part of the military support the Pentagon provides to Israel. According to the Times, “rapid events” have occurred since Friday’s release of two American women held hostage by Hamas. That prompted Washington to “more urgently” suggest that Israel allow time for negotiations to release all remaining hostages. The exact mechanism of Friday’s hostage transfer was not immediately clear. Hamas said the release was “for humanitarian reasons.”
An official familiar with the hostage negotiations being conducted over Qatar said Hamas had warned that an Israeli ground operation would make a hostage deal less possible. An unnamed senior Israeli military official told the Times that contacts between the U.S. and Qatar suggested that about 50 hostages with dual citizenship could be released, regardless of a larger agreement for all hostages.
Natalie Raanan, third from left, Judith Raanan, right, are seen upon their arrival in Israel following their release from Hamas captivity, while government captor Gal Hirsch, center, holds their hands, October 20, 2023 ( With kind approval)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday but did not directly respond to questions about U.S. efforts to delay Israel’s ground invasion.
“There are many, many Israelis who are hostages, and of course hostages of other nationalities. That’s why we work to do everything we can and use every lever, partnership and relationship at our disposal to get them out. Israel is doing the same,” he said. “But when it comes to what we talk about with Israel in terms of its military operations, it’s really as much about how they do it as it is about how best to achieve the desired outcome.”
Although US officials said they would prefer a delay in the ground operation, they also stressed the need to avoid the impression that Washington is controlling Israel’s actions, as this would put the US in direct conflict with Iran or its proxies in the region could pull. according to the Times.
Still, Blinken told NBC, the U.S. expected a “likelihood of escalation, escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces and personnel.”
As a precautionary measure, the State Department has begun withdrawing non-essential diplomatic personnel from Iraq.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, October 22, 2023. (AP Photo/ Ariel Schalit)
CNN also reported Sunday that a delay could help hostage negotiations. The US television network cited two sources briefed on the discussions without elaborating.
“The [administration] was quoted as saying by a person familiar with the discussions.