Biden Quietly Sends Three-Star General, Other Military Officers to Israel: Report
The Biden administration is urging Israel to delay any invasion of Gaza even as it has sent a three-star Marine general to advise the Israel Defense Forces of what might await them if the promised invasion takes place.
Marine Lt. Gen. James Glynn is leading a contingent of military officers who are offering advice to Israel, according to Axios, which cited U.S. and Israeli sources it did not name.
Glynn formerly was in charge of special operations for the Marines and was part of the effort that defeated the Islamic State in Iraq.
American officers have shared lessons learned during the urban duel for Mosul, Axios reported.
“We have asked several officials with relevant experience, simply to help Israeli officials think through the difficult questions ahead and explore their options. The IDF will, as always, make its own decisions,” a Pentagon representative said, according to Axios.
IDF says it hit some 320 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, including tunnels where operatives were hiding, and several mortar and ATGM positions, as the military readies for a ground offensive. pic.twitter.com/HtQ9TCiGdD
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 23, 2023
On Monday, Israeli forces conducted operations within Gaza, according to The Washington Post.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the mission was “to kill terrorist cells in preparation for the next phases of war.” One Israeli soldier was killed in the fighting.
The Biden administration is in no hurry to have Israel launch its full-scale invasion of Gaza and is urging a slow pace to potentially allow for hostage negotiations and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, according to The New York Times, which cited unnamed U.S. officials.
The Biden administration is asking Israel to delay the looming ground incursion into Gaza to allow time for the release of more hostages and for humanitarian aid to get to civilians in Gaza, administration official tells @ABC News.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/1THw2uWlTe
— ABC News (@ABC) October 22, 2023
After slaughtering more than 1,400 people in an Oct. 7 raid, Hamas took more than 200 hostages back to Gaza.
Within Israel, the Times of Israel is reporting that the Israeli military is urging the government that it be allowed to invade Gaza. The report said the IDF is concerned that the order for an attack may be delayed or perhaps never arrive.
The IDF says it is ready, but appears to be held back by Israel’s political leadership, Lazar Berman wrote in an analysis in the Times of Israel.
“By all indications, we will very soon have a much clearer picture of whether the IDF can still maneuver in enemy territory… or whether Israel’s leaders even have the stomach to order such an operation. For now, soldiers wait anxiously in staging grounds, Hamas continues to prepare its defenses, and the impatience and concern of Israeli civilians grows,” Berman wrote.
U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin predicts invading Gaza will be more difficult than the 9-month assault against ISIS in Mosul: “Urban combat is extremely difficult. It goes at a slow pace. This may be a bit more difficult because of the underground network of tunnels that…
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) October 22, 2023
The U.S. State Department on Monday said it would not support a ceasefire, according to an AFP dispatch posted by the Times of Israel.
A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit, and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department representative Matthew Miller said.
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