The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday that Israel has decided to delay its invasion of the Gaza Strip in order to allow the US to install missile defences in the area.
Citing US and Israeli officials, the report stated that Israel had, for the time being at least, granted the US request to place its air defences ahead of the planned ground attack.
According to the publication, US officials persuaded Israel to postpone the assault until the air defence systems could be deployed, possibly by the end of this week.
According to the source, the Pentagon is rushing to deploy about 12 air-defence systems to protect US soldiers from missiles and rockets where they are stationed including Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the report, US military authorities expressed serious concerns about the safety of US soldiers because they thought that once the ground operation started, several militant factions may target US forces.
Further, Israel is taking into account diplomatic efforts to secure the release of further hostages held by Hamas, in addition to military considerations.
Plans are also being considered to provide humanitarian help to residents in Gaza.
According to Oxfam, hunger is being used as a weapon of war against Gaza's civilian population. Since Israel's "total siege", only 2% of the enclave's typical food supply has been supplied.
According to a spokesman for the health ministry, Gaza's healthcare system is totally broken.
Since October 7, over 1,400 people have died in Israel, while at least 6,546 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli assaults on Gaza.
