Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP / Getty Images
Officials in the United States have been trying to convince the Israeli Defense Forces to delay their pending ground incursion into Gaza to give more time to negotiators trying to secure the release of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas.
U.S. diplomats have not given Israel an ultimatum and said the U.S. will support the IDF's ground assault once it begins.
"It's important to remember that the IDF, the Israeli defense forces, they make their own decisions," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby said. "They decide what they are going to do and when they are going to do it. And again, all we are trying to do is to make sure they know we are here as a resource — certainly for information and context, we have a lot of experience in this kind of thing, but also from a security assistance perspective."
Officials also hope a delay will allow more humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza.
The European Union is also calling for a "humanitarian pause" to allow more trucks carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, and water into Gaza.
So far, three aid conveys have been allowed to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing at the border of Egpyt.
Israel has rejected any notion of a cease-fire and continues to prepare for a ground assault into Gaza.
Over the weekend, Israel continued to bombard Hamas targets throughout Gaza, killing 436 people.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas started, over 5,700 people have been killed, including 1,400 Israeli civilians and nearly 4,400 Palestinians. Over ten thousand people have been wounded.