 "Israel agrees to delay Gaza invasion, America stations F16s in West Asia")
Hours after announcing that it was ready to invade Gaza, Israel said it has agreed to delay the invasion of Gaza for now, so the US can rush missile defences to the region, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing US and Israeli officials. The move comes amid reports that the US has deployed a squadron of its F-16 fighter jets and that it plans to send Israel two Iron Dome missile defence systems as the country continues to fight the militant group Hamas.
S&P cuts credit rating
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s says it is changing its outlook on Israel’s credit rating to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ as the country fights a war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the militant group’s devastating attack.
S&P said Tuesday it was revising the outlooks on its long-term foreign and local-currency ratings on Israel, citing the war, its potential to escalate into a broader regional conflict and the impact that could have on the country’s economy.
S&P left Israel’s credit rating unchanged at AA-. The agency’s highest rating is AAA. By revising the outlook, S&P is raising a warning flag signalling that a rating downgrade could happen in the future. Credit ratings firms Fitch and Moody's have taken similar actions.
UN warns
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The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees warned that without immediate deliveries of fuel it will soon have to sharply cut back relief operations across the Gaza Strip, even as Israel’s envoy to the UN Gilad Erdan called for UN chief’s resignation, saying Israel must rethink its relations with the world body.
Israel accuses Iran
The Israeli military accused Iran of having ordered recent attacks by Tehran-backed militias in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, and said Israel was jointly monitoring the region with its US ally.
In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Iran was currently providing Hamas in Gaza with intelligence and was also helping stoke anti-Israel sentiment globally with an online messaging campaign.
Israel intensifies attacks
Israel intensified its overnight bombing of southern Gaza, where officials said record numbers of Palestinians were killed again, as violence flared elsewhere in the West Asia.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled from north to south in the tiny, crowded enclave after Israel warned them it would bombard the north, including Gaza City, to wipe out Hamas after its killing and kidnapping spree in Israel on October 7.
The Palestinian death toll now exceeds 6,500, Gaza’s health ministry said on Wednesday.