Israel ready to invade Gaza Strip, EU and US urge Tel Aviv to wait - media

TheUS and European governments are pressuring Israel to delay a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. In particular, to buy time for negotiations conducted through Qatar to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. About this writes Bloomberg.

The publication writes that the negotiations are delicate and the Palestinians may agree to release some of the hostages taken by the militants on 7 October. At the same time, they will not demand reciprocal steps from Israel. An Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip could affect the outcome of the negotiations.

Initially Israel was against postponing a large-scale military operation to destroy Hamas, which, according to officials, was to take place after the attack, but under pressure from the U.S. agreed to postpone it," the newspaper points out.

Hamas has taken more than 200 people hostage. They are being held in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military, more than 20 hostages are teenagers and young children, and 10-20 of them are over 60 years old. Among them are dozens of citizens of the US, Britain, France and other countries.

According to media reports, the negotiations are already a success. Thus, the militants agreed to release a mother and daughter - US citizens.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles are located 6 kilometres from the Erez crossing on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. If Israel launches an invasion of the Gaza Strip, it will be the largest operation for the country since the war with Lebanon in 2006.

Recall that on 7 October, Hamas militants invaded the territory of Israel. They killed and kidnapped not only military, but also civilians.

In response, Israel announced the beginning of a military operation against Hamas. IDF soldiers had already entered the territory of the Gaza Strip as part of raids, but they did not move deep inside.