According to a US official and a person familiar with Israel's plan, Israel has temporarily agreed to the US request to postpone a ground invasion of Gaza so that the US Department of Defense can deploy air defense systems in the area to protect the US military.
The US Department of Defense is racing against time to deploy nearly 12 air defense systems to the region to protect US forces stationed in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from missile and rocket attacks. US officials have currently convinced Israel to temporarily suspend ground attacks until these devices are deployed as early as later this week.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said during a briefing on Monday, when asked about the US request to suspend the attack, "We will take action in the most favorable circumstances for us
Israeli officials have stated that Israel has also considered efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians inside Gaza, strengthen intelligence, weaken Hamas' defense capabilities before launching a ground attack, and diplomatic efforts to release more hostages taken by Hamas in its plans.
US officials say that although Israel is concerned that the longer the ground invasion operation drags on, the more fully prepared Hamas fighters inside Gaza will be, they still agree to temporarily postpone the offensive.
But US officials say the threat facing the US military is the most worrying issue. The US military and other officials believe that if Israel launches a ground invasion, the US military will become the target of various radical groups supported by Iran.
US officials say there have been at least 13 such attacks using drones and missiles in Iraq and Syria, resulting in the death of a US contractor and the destruction of a US drone. The existing defense systems of the US military in these locations have successfully avoided more serious attacks. But the Pentagon said that at least 20 American soldiers were injured in Syria, and another 10 were injured in Iraq, almost all of them minor injuries.