US advises Israel to delay Gaza invasion, officials say

The Biden administration has advised Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, hoping to buy time for hostage negotiations and allow for more humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the cordoned off enclave, according to several US officials.

US officials also want more time to prepare for attacks on US interests in region from Iranian-backed groups, which officials say are expected to intensify once Israel fully moves its forces into Gaza.

The administration makes no demands of Israel and still supports the ground invasion and Israel's goal of eradicating Hamas, the group controlling Gaza that killed More than about 1,400 people in the 7 terrorist attacks October, the officials said.

But rapidly evolving events since Hamas released two American women on Friday have prompted the administration to take more action. urgently suggest that the Israelis allow time to negotiate the release of 212 other hostages, the officials said.

President Biden on Sunday afternoon called the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the latest developments. , said the White House. Mr. Biden also spoke with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain.

M . Biden and Mr. Netanyahu agreed that after the first two humanitarian aid convoys entered Gaza on Saturday, “there will now be a continuous flow of this critical aid,” a White House summary of the appeal says . The leaders also “discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages taken by Hamas – including US citizens – and to ensure safe passage for US citizens and other Gaza civilians who wish to leave,” the White House said. /p>

Two U.S. officials said the advice to the Israelis to suspend the ground war came through Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III because the Pentagon helped advise Israel on military matters. actions, including land invasion.

Mr. Austin has had near-daily calls with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to discuss operational issues, U.S. arms shipments to Israel and U.S. military deployments in the region. He also spoke of hostage recovery as a priority, a U.S. official said.

A spokesman for Mr. Gallant declined to comment on the conversations. /p>< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A diplomat at the Israeli embassy in Washington denied that the US government was advising Israelis to delay the ground invasion and said: 'We are having dialogue and consultations close with the American administration. The United States is not pressuring Israel regarding the ground operation. that a ground invasion would make hostage releases much less likely. Qatar maintains close ties with Hamas political leaders.

United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken avoided responding directly when asked asked Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" whether the United States was asking Israel to delay a ground invasion to allow time for hostage negotiations. He stressed, however, that the United States was giving advice to the Israelis regarding the invasion.

“It is important, as we said, not only to know what they do, but also how. they do,” he said, “especially when it comes to making sure that civilians are as protected as possible in this crossfire caused by Hamas. »

Mr. . Blinken continued: “There are many, many Israelis who are hostages and of course hostages of other nationalities. So we're working to do everything we can, using every lever, partnership and relationship we have to get them out. Israel does the same. But in terms of what we talk about with Israel regarding its military operations, it really focuses on both how they do it and how they can best achieve the results they're looking for. »

Mr. Blinken also said it was important that