The US government has urged Israel to further delay its planned large-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip to “wipe out” the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas to allow room for negotiations to free the more than 200 hostages in enclave, the New York Times reported last Sunday, citing unnamed US officials.

The aim is to prevent further civilian casualties and allow more humanitarian aid to reach the population in the besieged Palestinian territory, the newspaper’s sources said.

The Israeli army has massed tens of thousands of military personnel around the Gaza Strip and is preparing to invade as part of the war it has declared on Hamas after its unprecedented attack on Israeli territory since October 7 with over 1,400 dead.

The release of two US hostages by Hamas on Friday played a role in the US prompting, according to the Times report. The Palestinian Islamist movement, designated a “terrorist” group by the US, the EU and Israel, has indicated that the launch of the ground operation would make it unlikely that more hostages would be freed, an official familiar with the negotiations, which are being conducted mainly through the Qatar — the Gulf emirate maintains relations with the leadership of Hamas.

Moreover, Washington is said by the newspaper to be seeking to buy time to prepare for possible attacks by pro-Iranian groups. against American targets in the region, which are expected to escalate after the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip begins.

Asked about the publication, the representative of the National Security Council of the American presidency, John Kirby, said yesterday Monday that “we are talking” with Israel about the “consequences” of decisions “made on the battlefield”, but he hastened to clarify that it is the Israeli political and military leadership “who will make decisions about what to do, when to do it and how to do it.”