Israel has agreed to a US request to delay its expected ground offensive in the Gaza Strip so air defenses could be put in place to protect US troops in the region, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US and Israeli officials.
According to the report, the Pentagon is scrambling 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 missiles and rockets. The report states that US officials have so far persuaded the Israelis to hold off until those pieces can be placed, as early as later this week.
Israel is also taking into account in its planning the effort to supply humanitarian aid to civilians inside Gaza, as well as diplomatic efforts to free more of the hostages held by Hamas, officials told WSJ.
But, US officials said the threats to the US troops are of paramount concern, as US military and other officials believe that American forces will be targeted by various militant groups once the incursion begins.
According to US officials, 13 attacks using drones and missiles have already occurred in Iraq and Syria, resulting in the death of one American contractor and the destruction of an American drone. At least two dozen troops were injured in Syria and another 10 in Iraq, defense officials said, nearly all of them minor.