Israel has asked the White House to postpone a high-level meeting on military plans for the southern Gaza city of Rafah that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled, officials said on Wednesday, in an apparent attempt to ease tensions between the two allies, Reuters reported. .

Netanyahu canceled a planned visit to Washington by a high-level Israeli delegation after the United States allowed a Gaza ceasefire resolution to pass at the United Nations on Monday, marking a new military low in his relationship with President Joe Biden.

The suspension of this week’s meeting put a new hurdle in the way of US efforts, concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to force Netanyahu to consider alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians.

On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters: “The Prime Minister’s Office has agreed to reschedule a special meeting” in Rafah.

“So now we’re working with them to set up (a) convenient date,” she added.

An Israeli official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that another meeting was taking place and said Netanyahu was considering sending a delegation as early as next week.

There was no comment from Netanyahu’s office.

Attempts to weaken the relationship

This week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held wide-ranging talks with senior US officials and sought to ease tensions between the two governments.

Galant, though not part of Netanyahu’s inner circle, is a key architect of the campaign against Hamas in response to the militant attack on October 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people. Israel’s military response has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave.

The Israeli team will continue to be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi, two close associates of Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The talks are expected to focus on Israel’s announced offensive on Rafah, home to more than a million displaced Palestinians.

Last week, the White House said it planned to share with Israeli officials alternatives to withdrawing the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah without a full-scale ground invasion, which Washington said would be “disastrous.”

The threat of such an offensive has deepened divisions between close allies of the United States and Israel and raised questions about whether the United States could limit military aid if Netanyahu defies Biden and goes ahead anyway.

Biden, who is running for re-election in November, faces pressure not only from America’s allies but also from a growing number of fellow Democrats to rein in Israel’s military response in Gaza.

Biden’s decision to abstain from the UN, which came after months of overwhelmingly following the long-standing US policy of defending Israel at the world body, appears to reflect growing US disillusionment with the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu responded sharply, calling the US move a “clear retreat” from his previous position and would harm Israel’s military efforts and negotiations to free the more than 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.

U.S. officials said at the time that the Biden administration was confused by Netanyahu’s decision and considered it an overreaction, insisting there was no change in policy.