Hamas is making strategic moves to delay an Israeli invasion and coalesce world opinion against the Jewish state. It has released two American hostages who were held in the strip following the October 7 rain into Southern Israel.
Due to this, the Biden Administration has pushed the Israeli government to delay its ground invasion of Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Hamas released two U.S. citizens taken hostage in the Gaza Strip, amid rising pressure on Israel to put off a planned invasion on the enclave to allow time for diplomacy.
The release was the first time Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the enclave, set free any of the roughly 200 hostages taken by militants during a raid on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis. Apart from Israel, citizens of more than 40 countries were killed and went missing during the attack, according to the Israeli foreign ministry. Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, says that 4,137 Palestinians have been killed.
The release of two Americans is a welcome sight, and could be due in part to the two aircraft carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean. The killing of Hamas leaders responsible for the terrorist attack continues. NBC continues:
The aid convoy of 20 trucks entered the strip just after 2.30 p.m. (07.30 a.m. E.T.), according to NBC News producers at the border, bringing with it a small lifeline for more than 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza as Israel’s siege on Gaza continues.
Israel said it would allow food, water, and medicine to cross into Gaza from Egypt after pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden. Egyptian officials pushed for a deal to open the Rafah border that would include humanitarian aid.
Israel has now waited for 2 weeks without any ground invasion. Hamas has now had ample time to fortify its positions. Most importantly, it is receiving the growing support of many Muslim states and large sections of Western opinion. Israeli
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