WSJ-Israel To Delay Gaza Invasion; Allow US To Resupply Missile Defences

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to both US and Israeli officials, Israel has agreed to delay its ground invasion of Gaza to allow for the US to rush missile defences to the region. WSJ: "The Pentagon is scrambling to deploy nearly a dozen air-defense systems to the region, including for U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to protect them from missiles and rockets. U.S. officials have so far persuaded the Israelis to hold off until those pieces can be placed, as early as later this week."

• WSJ: "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 said."
• While the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, diplomatic efforts to free hostages, and the delay to the ground invasion could see geopolitical and security risks decline in the short term, this development does not mitigate the very-likely prospect that Israeli forces will eventually launch a ground assault on Gaza.
• A key question at present is whether any eventual assault is an 'occupation' involving a huge proportion of IDF personnel (risking leaving Israel's northern border lightly defended), or a smaller force intended to strike against known Hamas targets.
• The continued delays to the invasion could suggest that the Netanyahu is rethinking its strategy following the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks, in which a mass invasion seemed imminent.