Israel delayed operation in Gaza due to Biden and Blinken visits

Israel delayed the start of a ground operation in the Gaza Strip due to visits by US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and negotiations for the release of hostages, Report informs referring to the VICE News magazine.

“First there were delays because of [last week’s] visits by [President] Biden and [US Secretary of State Anthony] Blinken, which seemed reasonable,” said an Israeli domestic security official, who does not have permission to be named in the media. “Then the release of the [two] American hostages on Friday was negotiated by Qatar. But it’s becoming obvious that the IDF is ready and wants to begin what will inevitably be a long and costly operation. And it’s not clear the delay is for diplomatic or military reasons right now. The Israeli people have been prepared for the loss of some hostages but [Netanyahu] has not communicated the outlines of the government’s strategy to the public.”

The magazine’s journalists talked to the military. “We are ready, we have been ready for a week to start this operation,” said Sgt. Etan, 26, a mobilized IDF infantry reservist who asked to be identified in the media only by his first name and rank, in keeping with IDF policies.

Israeli officials close to Netanyahu have been quietly hinting that the failure to act quickly is the result of US pressure to delay an operation in order to negotiate the release of civilian hostages. Dozens of hostages from the U.S. and Europe are believed to be held inside Gaza. But a US diplomat in the region said that while the Biden administration has cautioned Israel against an attack on Lebanon-based Hamas ally Hezbollah for fears of sparking a broader war and does want to see as many civilian hostages released as possible via negotiations, the idea that it forced a delay in a military operation strains credibility.

“The president has been open about concerns of a regional conflict and of course we support negotiations to free hostages but from the first moment of this crisis we have offered nothing but support for Israel's decisions on how to react,” said the official, who spoke to VICE News on background so they could speak candidly.

“But to imply that Israel isn’t militarily acting [in Gaza] because the U.S. told them not to do so runs counter to the relationship’s history… we have never been able to tell them what to do.”