UPDATED 12:48 P.M.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement on Wednesday, but he declined to provide any details on the timing or other information about the operation.
He said the decision on when forces would go into the Palestinian enclave, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties.
“We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning,” Netanyahu said.
“Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be.”
Israel has carried out days of intense bombardment of the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities that killed some 1,400 people.
Earlier, citing U.S. and Israeli officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza for now, so the United States could rush missile defences to the region.
Reuters reported on Monday that Washington advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault and is keeping Qatar – a broker with the Palestinian militants – apprised of those talks as its tries to free more hostages and prepare for a possible wider regional war.
(Reporting by Henriette Chacar, writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Crispian Balmer)
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(Reuters) -Israel has agreed to delay an expected invasion of Gaza for now so that the United States can rush missile defences to the region to protect its troops there, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. and Israeli officials.
Israel is also taking into account in its planning the effort to supply humanitarian aid to civilians inside Gaza, as well as diplomatic efforts to free hostages held by Hamas militants, the report said.
Threats to U.S. troops were of paramount concern, it said.
The U.S. military and other officials believe their forces will be targeted by militant groups once the invasion of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory starts.
The United States is hurrying to deploy nearly a dozen air-defence systems to the region, according to the Journal.
Reuters reported on Monday that Washington advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Gaza Strip and is keeping Qatar – a broker with the Palestinian militants – apprised of those talks as its tries to free more hostages and prepare for a possible wider regional war.
(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)
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