Israel has agreed to delay a ground operation against Gaza until the US deploys air defenses to protect US troops in the region. The United States made the request after the Pentagon confirmed 13 attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq in the past week.
The Wall Street Journal writes about it.
The Pentagon is trying 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 United Arab Emirates, to protect them from drones and missiles.
Before that, the Bloomberg agency, citing sources, wrote that the US and EU governments are urging Israel to postpone the invasion of Gaza in order to buy time for the release of the hostages.
The publicationʼs sources said that negotiations with Hamas are of a delicate nature and may end in failure. However, they said, there are signs that the group may agree to release at least some of the civilians.
- A total of four people were freed from Hamas captivity: Yoheved Lifshitz, Nurita Cooper and two American-Israeli women, mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan. Israel says more than 200 people are still being held hostage.