Israel Consents to Postpone Gaza Invasion to Allow US to Quickly Install Missile Defenses in Area

According to U.S. officials and sources knowledgeable with Israeli plans, Israel has temporarily acceded to a request from the United States to postpone its anticipated ground invasion of Gaza in order to allow the Pentagon to position air defenses in the area to safeguard American forces.

In order to defend American forces stationed in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates from missiles and rockets, the Pentagon is rushing to deploy about a dozen air defense systems to the region. Thus far, American representatives have managed to convince the Israelis to wait until those components can be positioned, maybe even later this week. According to authorities, Israel is also intending to provide humanitarian supplies to people inside Gaza and pursue diplomatic measures to liberate further captives detained by Hamas.