An American-led offensive is desperately trying to thread a narrow diplomatic needle and prevent the Gaza Crisis from exploding into an uncontrollable wider war.

Joe Biden, Olof Scholz and Rishi Sunak have all been to Israel this week. Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni will soon follow.

Together they are known as “The Quint” and they are all preaching the same message: 1- Support for Israel and its right to defend itself. 2- Total condemnation of Hamas. 3- The need to differentiate between Hamas and Palestinians. 4- The urgent need for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza residents 5- Prevent the red mist from blinding Israel to the wider consequences of a no-holds barred invasion of Gaza. 6- Deter Iran.

The foundational premise of the diplomatic offensive is that American support for Israel is granite-like. The oppressive security-heavy policies of successive Likud-led governments has chipped away at American backing. But the American-buttressed plinth on which Israel sits is so large that it is unlikely to ever be reduced to rubble.

Alongside Israeli over-reaction is the associated problem of Iran’s reaction to the Gaza crisis. Its foreign minister (Hossein Amir Abdollahian) has threatened to activate the “Axis of Resistance” if Israeli forces move into Gaza. In fact, Tehran may have already done so. On Thursday the American warship USS Carney intercepted Israeli-bound missiles fired by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. US troops in Syria and Iraq have suffered drone attacks and Hezbollah has launched missile attacks from southern Lebanon.

In response to the Iranian threat, the US has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean and 2,000 additional troops into the region. Washington said they are meant as a deterrent.  On the diplomatic front, Washington is relying mainly on Qatar to act as a go-between. The Gulf kingdom has good relations with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran as well as playing host to 10,000 American troops. Japan, which has reasonable diplomatic relations with Tehran, has also offered its services.

The immediate focus of the Western countries is humanitarian aid to Gaza. This is a signal to the Arab countries that while condemning Hamas, they do not hold the Palestinians as a whole responsible for their actions. President Biden has pledged $100 million. The EU has trebled its assistance to Gaza to $75 million and the UK has increased its aid to $12.8 million. Canada and Japan have upped their aid to $10 million each and Australia is sending $32.4 million in aid to Gaza

But increased aid and the food and medicines it buys are useless if they fail to reach the intended recipients. To do this, the Israeli-imposed blockade had to be lifted. Roughly 2.2 million Gazans have been without electricity, water, medicine or other vital supplies since the Hamas attack. After what American diplomats described as “frank discussions”, Netanyahu’s office announced that it “would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt.”

However, the aid will be little and possibly too late for many Gazans. Since October 7 the Israel Air Force has been bombing the Rafah Crossing which links Egypt and Gaza. It is now impassable. Twenty lorries filled with essential supplies are expected to cross into Gaza on Friday. Up to 200 are waiting. According to the UN Relief Agency, at least a 100 are needed every day.

Resuming the aid flow is only one step towards threading the diplomatic needle. As well as deterring an Iranian-backed Hezbollah attack, the US must persuade the Israeli Defence Force to tread softly as they invade Gaza.

This will be difficult. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The Israelis are refusing to allow civilians to leave and the Egyptians are adamant that they will turn away any refugees.

Urban fighting is the most difficult and dangerous there is. Every wall is a defensive shield. Complicating the logistics is a complex web of tunnels which will doubtless be booby-trapped and in which are probably kept 199 Israeli hostages.

The aim of the Israeli Defence Force is to free the hostages, destroy Hamas as a military and political force and to do so with the absolute minimum of “collateral damage” to the large, overcrowded and trapped civilian population. Failure to achieve those nigh impossible military aims runs the risk of a Hezbollah/Iranian attack which could ignite the entire region.

IF (note capital letters) aid is restored, Iran deterred and Israel held in check, Washington faces the even more difficult “what next” problem. Returning to America on Air Force One, President Biden spoke of reviving the moribund two-state solution. That is a discussion for tomorrow.

* Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and author of “The Encyclopaedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain".