The much anticipated Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip to “destroy Hamas” appears to have been delayed in no small part because of credible threats by Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah to open a second front should the Israel Defense Forces move into the Palestinian territory.
This was the assessment of the senior military correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, who reported that civilians in Gaza were told they had about 24 hours to relocate from northern Gaza on Thursday under the general expectation that the invasion would happen by the weekend.
However, with the weekend come and gone without the IDF advancing ground forces into Gaza, the JP reported that the IDF has delayed its invasion plans because it believes Hezbollah is waiting for the Israeli military to become entrenched in ground battles in Gaza before it strikes Israel from the north.
Meanwhile, Iran is also making its own threats against Israel should it launch a ground offensive against Gaza.
Axios reported that Iran has sent a message to Israel through Tor Wennesland, the UN envoy to the Middle East, that it will intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza escalates into a full-scale invasion.
Publicly, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned that Israel should expect to fight a very long war should it invade, and that the likelihood that the fighting would spread to multiple fronts is a virtual certainty.
The Iranian foreign ministry also said on Monday that if Israel stops the airstrikes on Gaza, then Hamas would be willing to release certain hostages, according to the Associated Press.
Hamas officials said “they are ready to take necessary measures to release the citizens and civilians held by resistant groups, but their point was that such measures require preparations that are impossible under daily bombardment by the [Israelis] against various parts of Gaza,” said Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, according to the AP.
Israeli officials have been unequivocal about their intent to destroy the terrorist organization after the massacre earlier this month that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, including at least 160 foreign nationals, of which at least 30 were American citizens, and which resulted in more than 100 others being taken hostage.
Israel’s ambassador to the UK invoked the firebombing of Dresden by British and American forces during World War II, which killed tens of thousands of people, to describe what should happen to the Gaza Strip if need be in order to destroy Hamas.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that Israel would not stop its operation until Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities were destroyed.
Netanyahu vowed to the Israeli public in an address last Wednesday, “We will crush and destroy [Hamas].”
