Israeli Military Still Waiting for Green Light on Gaza Invasion

Early Sunday Raid Not Part of Broader Operation

An early morning raid by Israeli Marines into Northern Gaza left a woman and a three-year-old girl dead, but did not mark the beginning of a full fledged invasion of the strip.

The invasion is still likely coming, with the military saying they are ready for the invasion at any time, but are still waiting on the “green light” from the security cabinet to actually begin.

Military sources were quoted in the Israeli media as saying an assortment of options for different types of intervention against Gaza have been presented to the Netanyahu government, though with 48,000 reserves mobilized a full-scale ground invasion seems to be their preferred option.

The US is said to be urging Netanyahu to hold off on the invasion for now, though whether that is actually playing a role in the lack of such an invasion is unclear, and all indications from Israeli officials are that escalation remains in the cards.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.