Ten days after Hamas's terrorist attack shocked the world, Israel continues to wait for the next phase of their military operation in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces called up 300,000 reservists and put equipment at the border with Gaza, leading to expectations that a ground invasion into the tiny enclave that is home to more than 2 million Palestinians could be immediate, but that has not been the case.
The Israelis gave 1.1 million Palestinians living in the northern part of the country 24 hours to evacuate south last Friday, which prompted speculation that a ground invasion was imminent.
But a ground invasion might not even happen if the IDF is to be taken at face value.
"Everyone is talking about a ground offensive," Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the IDF, said at a briefing on Tuesday. "It might be something different."
Hecht added, "We have to break off from the old Gaza tit for tat. It's going to look different, it's going to take longer, and it's going to look totally different."
The Israeli military has faced criticism from the United Nations and other human rights groups for urging evacuations, characterizing the order as both not enough time, even though it has been 10 days, and impossible.
Israelis, for their part, have said they made the order to prevent civilian casualties. Hamas uses civilians as human shields and often hides among civilian populations to make targeting them much more difficult for Israeli forces.
"The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said. "The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation."
Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office, also said it was "concerned that this order, combined with the imposition of a complete siege of Gaza, may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians in breach of international law."
U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have shared their unwavering support for Israel while stressing the importance of protecting civilians. Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday in a show of support for the United States's biggest Middle Eastern ally. A report from Israeli outlet Walla suggested any sort of ground invasion would be delayed until after Biden left Israel.
“President Biden will receive a comprehensive brief on Israel's war aims and strategy,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. “The president will hear from Israel — how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas.”
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A ground invasion will be difficult for Israeli forces, should they ultimately launch one, in part because Hamas has created an extensive tunnel system underneath Gaza, which is where it frequently hides and hides its weapons. An anonymous Hamas official told the New York Times that they plan to ambush Israeli forces from behind and from the tunnels once they get inside Gaza.
There are also concerns about a wider conflict breaking out, most likely from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is Israel's northern neighbor, and the IDF's capacity to fight on two fronts.