Israel lacks achievable military goals, says US as West Asian nation muscles up for ground invasion in Gaza

With Israel bracing itself for a ground invasion in Gaza, the Joe Biden-led US administration has reportedly expressed concerns that the war-struck country lacks achievable military goals for its operation. Some US officials also believe that Israel is not yet ready for ground incursions in Gaza.

A report by the New York Times quoting senior officials said that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant highlighted the “importance of carefully considering how IDF troops conduct the incursion in Gaza, where terrorists will operate from tunnels and densely populated areas.”

Since Israel announced that it will launch ground operations in Gaza, US officials have made multiple phone calls to their Israeli counterparts to discuss the incursion.

Austin’s view on Israel’s proposed ground invasion

In an interview with ABC News, Defence Secretary Austin said Israel’s plan to launch a ground invasion in Gaza could take longer than the amount of time the US took the US to remove the Islamic State from power in Mosul.

“Urban combat is extremely difficult. It goes at a slow pace,” he said. “This may be a bit more difficult because of the underground network of tunnels that Hamas has constructed over time and the fact that they have had a long time to prepare for a fight.”

Officials also said that Israel must decide whether it wants to eliminate Hamas through a combination of surgical strikes or to launch a more expansive ground invasion.

US sends military officials to Israel

A few top-ranking US military officials have been sent to Israel to advise its military on Gaza ground operations, the White House has confirmed.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said during a White House briefing, “What I can tell you is that there are a few relevant military officers with the kinds of experience that we believe is appropriate to the sorts of operations that Israel is conducting and may conduct in the future to go over there to share some perspectives from their own experience and to ask the hard questions.”

According to a report by Axios, Marine Lt. Gen. James Glynn is among the handful of senior officials sent to Israel by US President Joe Biden owing to Glynn’s involvement in Marine special operations countering Daesh/ISIS in Iraq.