Israel agrees to delay Gaza invasion as US wants to get its air defenses ready: Report 

Israel has agreed to delay the ground invasion of Gaza so that the United States (US) can get its air defenses in place to protect its troops in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Pentagon is scrambling to deploy nearly a dozen air-defense systems to the region, including for US troops serving in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, to protect them from missiles and rockets, the report said, adding that the US officials have so far persuaded the Israelis to hold off until those systems are in place. The US is likely to deploy its defence system in the region as early as later this week.

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The New York Times on Sunday reported that the Biden administration had advised Israel to delay the invasion so that they could get time for hostage negotiations. The report said that the American officials also wanted more time to prepare for attacks on US interests in the region from Iran-backed groups, which officials said were likely to intensify once Israel moved its forces fully into Gaza. 

The US military and other officials believe their forces will be targeted by militant groups once the invasion starts, according to Reuters. 

Israel has been carrying out airstrikes to destroy Hamas targets in Gaza, from where the militants launched one of the deadliest attacks on the Jewish nation, killing 1400-plus Israelis. Top Israeli ministers have also made it clear that they will go inside Gaza to eliminate terrorists. 

On Monday, Israel conducted limited overnight raids against Hamas in Gaza and launched airstrikes on militants who it said were assembling to repulse any wider Israeli invasion. Israel said its armed forces' incursions overnight were partly intended to gather intelligence and had helped improve its military readiness.

While Israel is determined to invade Gaza, some policy experts have advised caution as they fear the move may exhaust Tel Aviv and prove to be costly.  

American commentator and author Thomas Friedman recently said that if Israel rushes into Gaza now to destroy Hamas — and does so without expressing a clear commitment to seek a two-state solution with the Palestinian Authority and end Jewish settlements deep in the West Bank — it will be making a grave mistake that will be devastating for Israeli interests and American interests.

"It could trigger a global conflagration and explode the entire pro-American alliance structure that the United States has built in the region," he wrote in a piece in NYT. "I am talking about the Camp David peace treaty, the Oslo peace accords, the Abraham Accords, and the possible normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The whole thing could go up in flames."

Reuters said that Hamas has built up a powerful arsenal with Iran's help, and Israeli forces would risk being drawn into fighting in a crowded urban setting against a group that has built a vast tunnel network referred to by Israeli troops as the "Gaza Metro".