US said asking Israel to delay expanded Gaza offensive for time for talks with Hamas

United States officials have requested that Israel delay its expanded ground operation in Gaza to allow negotiations with Hamas for a hostage and ceasefire deal to continue, some Hebrew media outlets report.

The IDF said earlier today that it aims to occupy 75 percent of the Gaza Strip’s territory within two months, as part of its new ground operation against Hamas, which began a week ago.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding security discussions with senior defense officials, given pressure from Washington – which is holding ongoing negotiations with Hamas — to provide more time to reach a deal before moving forward with the planned offensive, the Ynet news site reports.

The US has asked Israel to hold off on the full implementation of the plan and allow negotiations to continue alongside limited military operations, according to an earlier report from i24News citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The military has argued that prioritizing the defeat of Hamas would enable the release of the remaining 58 hostages the terror group is holding, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

While US special envoy Steve Witkoff continues to mediate talks between Israel and Hamas, other American officials are still operating a separate backchannel, with the terror group through US-Palestinian businessman Bishara Bahbah.

Netanyahu called back the Israeli negotiation team from Doha last week, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept Witkoff’s proposal for a short-term ceasefire in exchange for the release of half the living hostages, which Israel agreed to.

A report this evening in the Saudi al-Hadath outlet claims Israel plans to send a team to Cairo tomorrow to continue the negotiations, but Army Radio cites an Israeli source saying there is no such plan.