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29 October 2023

Israel Agrees to Delay Invasion of Gaza So U.S. Can Rush Missile Defenses to Region

Dion Nissenbaum, Gordon Lubold, Nancy A. Youssef and Dov Lieber

An Israeli soldier standing at a position near Sderot on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. 

Israel has agreed, for now, to a request from the U.S. to delay its expected ground invasion of Gaza so the Pentagon can place air defenses in the region to protect U.S. troops, according to U.S. officials and people familiar with the Israeli planning.

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.

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.

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