Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad will visit Washington next week, the Israeli government announced today, which is under strong pressure from the United States to abort the general offensive it is preparing against Rafah, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced yesterday the delegation to Washington “following the request of US President Joe Biden” to discuss the planned Israeli operation in Rafah.

Joe Biden had a phone call Monday with the Israeli prime minister in which he said he was “very concerned” about the Israeli government’s plans, saying a large-scale Israeli army ground operation in Rafah “would be a mistake.”

The American president asked him Benjamin Netanyahu sending an interagency Israeli delegation to the United States to discuss the plan for this attack. Joe Biden warned Benjamin Netanyahu that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would intensify anarchy in Gaza and that teams from both sides would meet in Washington to discuss the issue.

The meeting will take place this week or next, and no business in Rafah will take place before those talks, according to the White House.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters after the call that the two countries will discuss in depth how the situation in Gaza will evolve, where the humanitarian crisis is escalating after six months of conflict.

“Anarchy prevails in areas that have been cleared by the Israeli army, but not stabilized” in Gaza, and the humanitarian crisis will deepen if Israel goes ahead with the attack on Rafah, Jake Sullivan said, summarizing Biden’s message to Netanyahu.

Biden told Netanyahu that a coherent strategy for Gaza is needed, “and not for Israel to go and destroy Rafah.”

“We’ve had many conversations at many different levels, at the military level, at the intelligence level, between diplomats and humanitarian experts, but until today we haven’t had the opportunity for a comprehensive, comprehensive strategic discussion…” he said.

The US president, who supported Israel almost unconditionally after the October 7 attack, is increasingly distancing himself from Benjamin Netanyahu.

Recently, the US president said that Netanyahu is “doing more harm than good” to his country with the way he is handling the war in Gaza, where civilian casualties are mounting and the humanitarian crisis is worsening.

In a speech last week, Senate President Chuck Schumer, a staunch supporter of Israel and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official, called for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu was an obstacle to peace.

Joe Biden the next day supported Schumer’s position, saying it echoes the concerns of many Americans.