Israel agrees to delay Gaza invasion, say reports

Israel has agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza as of now, media reports said.

United States military officials are trying to convince Israel against carrying out a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, CNN reported.

As per the report, American officials advised the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) against a counter-invasion, with the fear that it could "endanger hostages, civilians, and further inflame tensions in the region", Jerusalem Post reported.

Instead, the IDF was urged to deploy a "combination of precision airstrikes and targeted special operations raids" across the Strip, Jerusalem Post additionally reported.

The US has sent a significant amount of naval power to West Asia in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships, and about 2,000 marines.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war, Jerusalem Post reported.

Earlier today, it was reported that the IDF, which was planning a major ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, may face a challenge in the form of underground tunnels.

Just as released Israeli hostage Yocheved Lifshitz (85) said, the underground tunnel network is being considered as a major source of support for the Hamas militant group to hide and spring surprises on advancing IDF troupes.

According to an assessment by the IDF, Hamas has a tunnel network of 1,300 tunnels spread across 500 km. The military knows that this is one of the largest network of underground tunnels in the world and that this would be the biggest challenge for the forces.

Experts believe the hostages Hamas has taken are being housed in these tunnels which, according to studies, are only 2 metres wide and 2 metres high.

In May 2021, the Israeli military had claimed to unleash a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which reportedly destroyed 15 km (nine miles) of militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders.