Israel Backs Down: IDF Ground Invasion of Gaza to Remove Hamas is No Longer Imminent or Likely

For those waiting for the show, you're about to be disappointed. US President Joseph R. Biden, in his trip to appears to have convinced Benjamin Netanyahu, to punt. No Gaza invasion despite the buildup of tanks and troops.

"Let's be clear: President Biden and his administration are the only things holding Netanyahu back from absolutely leveling Gaza," said one armchair analyst on Twitter. "While Biden has rightly stood firm with Israel, he has also called for restraint, reflection, and everyone to abide by the rules of war. He has urged the world not to lump all Palestinians with Hamas and for Netanyahu not to make the same mistakes we made after 9/11. He is also working tirelessly to ensure humanitarian aid gets to Gaza quickly."

It's two weeks since the October 7th killing of 1400 Israelis by Hamas special forces hyped up on amphetamines and with instructions to shoot anything that moved. The militants were on a suicide mission and behaved "worse than Isis," in Biden's words. But he just doesn't feel that two wrongs make a right.

Biden has presented Israel with enough in terms of aid that the experienced Israeli leader has quietly called off a land invasion. Tanks have gone back to their garages and soldiers to their barracks.

Yes, the Israeli air force is continuing to pound Gaza, taking out a handful of Hamas commanders from the air. But really meet Israel's goal of eradicating Hamas in Gaza, will tak a land invasion. This will cause the death of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Israeli troops, and what then?

Israel's border service is quietly planning for a two mile no man's land between Gaza's inner wall a new outer barrier. In between will be landmines and laster activated weapons. Gaza may feel like a prison, but it is about to become much more isolated as a result of the invasion that killed 1400 Israelis.

What follows will be a long negotiation over 210 mostly Israeli hostages, involving Qatar, the US, Israel and Hamas. Aid for Gaza residents will trickle in, and slowly the damage done to Gaza infrastructure will be repaired.

And the vaunted IDF invasion of Gaza will be remembered as a big bluff. It will end with a whimper not a bang.

Further reading: What is delaying Israel's ground invasion into Gaza? - analysis. Aerial bombing absolutely can pave the way for an earlier invasion, but it does not eliminate risk or ground troop losses. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-769641