‘Hamas’s continued attacks make ground war inevitable,’ analysis by Mark White

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had "agreed to delay the ground war" to allow the US to place missile defence systems around its assets in the region.

There have been a number of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria in recent days.

WATCH HERE: Mark White says ground war is inevitable

The American military is now scrambling to boost their defences, not just in Iraq and Syria, but in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and other locations.

In his televised address to the Israeli people last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not go into the specifics of any delay.

In fact, he reiterated Israel's determination to launch a ground invasion of Gaza, but said when would be a matter for the war cabinet and military leaders.

He refused to go into detail on the multiple considerations planners of the ground offensive were taking into account, saying "They are not known to the public and that is how it should be."

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But he added: "I want to make it very clear, the timing of the operation of the IDF is unanimously determined by the cabinet that runs the war, along with the chief of the general staff."

Israel's stated aim is to degrade and then destroy Hamas. That has not changed, despite pressure to delay the ground invasion.

And the constant barrage of Hamas rockets into Israel will only strengthen that resolve.

After 20 days of Israeli air and missile strikes on Gaza, it is clear that Hamas still has significant capability.

Every day there are dozens of alerts in communities across Israel, as Hamas continues to target civilian areas.

On Tuesday, central Israel, including Tel Aviv came under its largest rocket barrage since the war began on 7 October.

Again last night, sirens sounded across parts of Tel Aviv as Hamas targeted the east and the south of the city.

We filmed as Israel's Iron Dome defence system sprang into action to protect the city.

Although we saw multiple interceptions of Hamas rockets, at least one got through.

The community of Rishon Leziyyon, on the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv, suffered a direct hit.

An apartment block was badly damaged and four people were injured.

In "preparing the ground" for a land invasion, Israel's Defence Forces last night launched their biggest raid into northern Gaza so far.

Tanks and troops pushed through the border fence and targeted "numerous Hamas terrorists, terror infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts".

Israel knows it can only do so much from the air.

And the fact Hamas still has the capability to launch large-scale rocket attacks shows just how well-prepared and well-stocked the terror group is.

They are well dug in to a network of tunnels, stretching hundreds of miles.

Any ground offensive will be slow and bloody. The IDF is likely to face significant losses.

But despite that inevitable heavy toll, Israel's leaders and its military commanders know it is the only sure way of achieving their stated goal of ending Hamas's reign of terror.