Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 23, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 23, 2023
Deri claims ground invasion held up by underprepared army
Aryeh Deri speaks during a Shas party faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Shas leader Aryeh Deri denies that a ground invasion of Gaza is being held up by politicians refusing to give the army a green light.
“You can’t just go in at a moment’s notice. I can’t divulge all the details, but it’s not like the army is ready and the political side isn’t letting it [invade],” Deri tells his faction at a weekly meeting.
The MK, who is not a minister and has no military experience, is nonetheless one of the few politicians named as an observer to the three-man war cabinet.
“There’s a lot of baseless reports causing confusion, in society and also among the soldiers,” he charges.
The army says it is ready to go in but waiting for politicians to okay the move, The Times of Israel has learned.
