Tipsheet

Netanyahu Sets Date for the Ground War in Gaza. Israel Is Just Waiting on One Thing.

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  October 25, 2023 10:30 PM

See UPDATE below

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Suppose folks thought that the wave of protests from antisemites and terrorist sympathizers would deter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or force President Joe Biden to cave concerning the impending ground war. In that case, you don’t understand the situation. That was never going to happen. For years, Europe has been filled with anti-Israel politicians and Jihadi trash. That political reality isn’t new.  

While that side might be blind to evil, Israel, the US, and others who want to eradicate radical Islamic terrorism know otherwise. This war is now an existential one, a righteous retaliation, an act of self-defense in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead. 

This war is the only course of action in response to the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Hamas must go, and Israel has amassed the forces to accomplish that goal. Weather delays, regional security concerns, and the hostage crisis have postponed the ground operation, along with Israeli commanders painstakingly gaming the scenario involving heavy urban warfare.  

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Spencer mentioned on the podcast today that the IDF could be waiting for Hamas to exhaust the 1 million liters of fuel they’ve stockpiled, which could go to hospitals but has been used for terrorist activity, namely keeping their web of tunnels ventilated. With no fuel to keep the generators keeping these Jihadi tunnels supplied with oxygen, Hamas, which reportedly had 40,000 fighters, will have to do their fighting topside.  

Netanyahu convened his war cabinet and set a date for the ground operation. He also listed the two main objectives of this incursion, which you could already guess: the elimination of Hamas and the rescuing of hostages, where nearly 200 remain in the hands of these terrorist animals.  


Another development is something we touched on regarding our rapid deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems in the region. Israel reportedly agreed to hold off invading the Gaza Strip until these units and other forces have been deployed to the region (via WSJ): 


Israel has agreed, for now, to a request from the U.S. to get its air defenses in place to protect U.S. troops in the region ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza, 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. 

But the threats to the U.S. troops are of a paramount concern, U.S. officials said. U.S. military and other officials believe that American forces will be targeted by various militant groups once the incursion begins. 

So far in Iraq and Syria, there have been at least 13 such attacks, using drones and missiles, which have resulted in the death of one American contractor and the destruction of an American drone, U.S. officials said. At least two dozen troops were injured in Syria and another 10 in Iraq, defense officials said, nearly all of them minor. 

Hamas’ days are numbered, but it will be a slog that could take months or even years. The regional fallout will also be significant since Iran and Hezbollah are bound to retaliate. Don’t be shocked if this becomes a two-front war for Israel, which explains why they’ve mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists. 

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UPDATE: Biden now calls for a humanitarian pause of indeterminate length until more aid can be delivered into Gaza. In other words, Joe wants no ground war until Hamas can steal more relief packages.