If there is a legitimate interest in shoring up U.S. defenses against Iranian attacks on American positions in the region, that is a different factor. But it would also be disjointed from the public posture of Biden and administration officials, which is allergic to even mentioning the word “Iran.”

There are a few other internal Israeli factors to watch. One is signs of tension between the political and military leaders over the delay. Aryeh Deri, a leader of the religious Shas party who is an observer to the war cabinet, claimed it wasn’t a matter of politicians delaying the invasion, but a matter of the IDF getting its ducks in a row: “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].”

Additionally, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aggressive persona and fiery rhetoric, he has actually been traditionally risk averse. There’s a reason why he avoided any actions to truly destroy Hamas in the past, instead attempting to keep the terrorist group in check by periodically degrading its military capability with lower-risk actions. So, while Biden may be pressuring Netanyahu to delay giving the green light, I suspect that there is some underlying Bibi indecision over the timing of the invasion as well.

[I suspect that all of these factors are in play, plus the fact that the IDF has scored some impressive gains through targeted strikes and recon-in-force missions. They know Hamas has created a deathtrap in Gaza for the IDF if they launch a ground invasion, and the 10/7 massacres likely intended to get Israel to rush into it. — Ed]