The Sunday report said the Biden administration also wants to increase preparedness for any potential attacks on US targets in the region from Iran-based groups, which it believes are likely to increase as the war goes on.
A diplomatic official had told The Times of Israel last week that the US and European countries were pushing Israel to hold off its ground operation in the hope of negotiating the release of more hostages.
War between Israel and the Hamas began on October 7 when the terror group abruptly launched a ground, air, and sea assault on the Jewish state. Under the cover of a barrage of thousands of rockets fired at town and cities across the country, over 2,500 gunmen crossed the border and rampaged murderously through southern areas. They slaughtered over 1,400 people — the vast majority of them civilians, of all ages. They also abducted over 200 people, men, women, and children, whom they took captive to Gaza.
Hamas rocket fire has persisted on south and central Israel, causing more deaths and injuries. Some 200,000 Israelis have been displaced from both the south and the north, which has also come under barrages from the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group. READ MORE
