Washington, 1 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - According to a media report, representatives of Israel and the US are to meet virtually on Monday for talks on Israel's planned ground offensive against the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting will take place as a video conference via a secure connection, the news portal Axios reported overnight on Sunday night, citing four Israeli and US officials. The White House and the office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have not yet commented on the possible meeting.

An Israeli delegation was supposed to have travelled to Washington last week to listen to US concerns about the planned ground offensive and to be presented with alternatives.

However, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu cancelled the trip after the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire without opposition from the US.

The Israelis then proposed postponing the talks until Monday, the US broadcaster CNN reported on Friday. But the scheduling was complicated by Israeli domestic political issues.

The fact that the meeting is now to take place virtually could help Netanyahu to "save face," Axios reported, citing senior Israeli officials. This would allow him to continue the discussion with the White House without having to send a delegation to Washington.

The relationship between US President Joe Biden and Israeli President Netanyahu is tense. Washington opposes a large-scale ground offensive in Rafah because of the hundreds of thousands of civilians there and would like Israel to consider alternatives.

MIA file photo