Why the ‘ground operation’ in the Gaza Strip is delayed – The Jerusalem Post explains

The ultimatums of the Israeli army to them Palestinians have expired, Israeli ground forces have encircled the Gaza Strip while the bombardment continues and yet the “ground attack” does not begin.

The Jerusalem Post attempts to explain the reasons for this delay in a lengthy text:

“Until a few days ago it was perfectly clear: The Israeli army’s ground operation in Gaza would begin either Friday or Saturday. The Israeli military has even given specific ultimatums to the Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, with the last of them expiring at noon on Friday.

The countdown to the ground attack was over, while Israel’s air force had already “cleared the way” for the ground forces after several days of bombing. Nevertheless, it is already Tuesday and the signs show that the time of the “land operation” it hasn’t come any closer.

What changed;

A number of factors appear to be responsible for the delay, but sources tell The Jerusalem Post that one factor is that concern that Hezbollah is waiting for the moment when the forces of the Israeli army they will have penetrated deep enough into Gaza to open a new front from the north.

In this light, the fact that Hizbollah has so far not been involved in the war and has kept its attacks to Israel relatively mild does not prove that they are determined to stay away from the conflict but it is possible that they are trying to create a false sense of security in the Israeli army, similar to that established by Hamas in the north.

With these suspicions, sources said Israeli intelligence agencies and politicians need to scrutinize their information and options even more. However, these suspicions are not expected to stop Israeli ground forces to invade Gaza, but may lead to further delay in order to double-check Hezbollah’s intentions but also to strengthen the forces on the northern front for the worst possible scenario.

Another problem identified by the Jerulam Post is the fact that the Israeli forces have not carried out a similar operation for decades and how to carry out such a business without proper preparationsimply to satisfy the world’s revenge-seeking moods, could turn out to be a huge mistake.

The last large-scale operations of the Israeli military were in 2006 the second Lebanon war, when the ground operation was an absolute mess, with the air strike being the successful part, while the 2008-2009 and 2014 invasions of Gaza had more symbolic in nature.

The strategy against Hamas

Given that the Israeli military has lost the element of “surprise” as Hamas launched a first attack, the Israelis would like to at least achieve a tactical surprise against Hamas, but this requires planning.

Other reasons for delaying the operation could be the pressure of the United States to avoid civilian casualties, the concerns of Israeli citizens over the loss of hostages in Gaza but also to give the Palestinians time to evacuate Gaza.

At this stage, Israel has enormous support from the international community, but the question that arises is whether the heads of the Israeli army and the government of Israel are wrong about the time they have.

According to the numbers announced by Hamas, About 2,000 Palestinians have already died and many more are injured. In 2014, when 2,000 Palestinians were killed, at least half were civilians despite Israel’s efforts to avoid such casualties. It is still possible that when the Israeli military decides to go ahead with the operation, the US will begin to seriously press for it to stop.

Several sources also tell the Jerusalem Post that no one has yet decided what will happen in Gaza once the Israeli army succeeds in defeating Hamas and ending its hegemony in the region.

Only after the operation is over will it be known whether the time of delay was spent wisely in finding clever and effective ways of invading and managing the next day, or as a waste of precious days.”