WASHINGTON – Israel has asked the White House to reschedule a high-level meeting on military plans for Gaza’s southern city of Rafah that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had abruptly cancelled, officials said on March 27, in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the two allies.

Mr Netanyahu called off a planned visit to Washington by a senior Israeli delegation after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations on March 25, marking a new war-time low in his relations with President Joe Biden.

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

On March 27, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that “the prime minister’s office has agreed to reschedule the meeting dedicated” to Rafah, adding: “So we’re now working with them to set (a) convenient date.”

An Israeli official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a new meeting was being arranged and said Mr Netanyahu was considering sending his delegation as early as next week.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Netanyahu’s office.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant held wide-ranging discussions with senior US officials this week and sought to lower the temperature between the two governments.

Mr Gallant, though not part of Mr Netanyahu’s inner circle, is a key architect of the campaign against Hamas in retaliation for the militants’ Oct 7 rampage that Israel says killed 1,200 people.

Israel’s military response has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, said the health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.

The Israeli team will still be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, two of Mr Netanyahu’s close confidants, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The talks are expected to focus on Israel’s threatened offensive in Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on March 27, “We do”, when asked if the US believes a limited military campaign in Rafah can take out remaining commanders of the Palestinian militant group.

The White House said last week that it intended to share with Israeli officials alternatives for eliminating Hamas’ remaining battalions in Rafah without a full-scale ground invasion that Washington says would be a “disaster”.

The threat of such an offensive has widened the differences between close allies the US and Israel, and raised questions about whether the US might restrict military aid if Mr Netanyahu defies Mr Biden and presses ahead anyway.

Mr Biden, running for re-election in November, faces pressure not just from America’s allies but also from a growing number of fellow Democrats to rein in the Israeli military response in Gaza.

Mr Biden’s decision to abstain at the UN, coming after months of mostly adhering to long-time US policy of shielding Israel at the world body, appeared to reflect growing US frustration with the Israeli leader.

Mr Netanyahu issued a stinging rebuke, calling the US move a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt Israel’s war efforts and negotiations to free more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza.

US officials said at the time that the Biden administration was perplexed by Mr Netanyahu’s decision and considered it an overreaction, insisting there had been no change in policy. REUTERS