The United States government, with the collaboration of many legislators, maintains pressure on Jerusalem to delay the expected ground invasion operation of Gaza. He is trying to buy time to negotiate the release of the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas, including several Americans. But there is another compelling reason to request Job's biblical patience.
Joe Biden's executive is concerned about the lack of achievable military objectives and fears that Israel's military forces are not yet prepared to launch the ground attack as they do not have a plan that can work, according to administration sources cited by The New York Times.
The Secretary of Defense, Austin Lloyd III, urged his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, this Monday in a telephone conversation regarding the need to consider very carefully how his forces can carry out the invasion of Gaza, territory in which Hamas maintains an intricate network of tunnels beneath the terrain of a densely populated area.
“Hamas has had fifteen years to prepare a dense defense in depth that integrates underground, ground-level and surface fortifications, communications tunnels, emplacements and combat positions,” Michael Knights, an expert at The Washington, wrote in an analysis this month. Institute.
All this device, Knights maintained, would also include “possible minefields, improvised explosive devices, anti-armor mines and buildings prepared as explosive traps.”
Faced with these dangers, and despite the fact that the cited sources insisted that the US government does not dictate to Israel what to do and still supports the ground operation, the Pentagon sent Navy Lieutenant General James Glynn, along with other officers, to help their Israeli colleagues in advisory tasks when facing the challenge of waging urban warfare.
This move reflects the Biden administration's involvement in the Gaza conflict and gives visibility to the preparations. The Pentagon stated, however, that they were not making decisions for Israel and ruled out the possibility that there were “American boots” in the incursion into the Palestine strip.
“The first thing that everyone should know, and I think everyone knows, is that urban combat is extremely difficult,” Austin stressed in an interview with ABC on Sunday. He knows what he is talking about because he participated in the campaign against the Islamic State for "the cleansing" of the Iraqi city of Mosul, between 2016 and 2017.
American commanders make no secret of their concern that an invasion could lead to a major loss of civilian life in Gaza. In their telephone conversation, Austin insisted to Gallant that he respect the laws of war and stressed the importance of protecting civilians.
This concern over a possible massacre is based on concern over the absence of a clear military strategy to achieve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal of eradicating Hamas. US military officials assured that they have not seen a viable plan since the idea arose after the attack on Israel on October 7.
