Axios quoted two American officials as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden is studying several alternatives to the Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, which it will propose to a high-level Israeli delegation scheduled to visit Washington next week.

The officials said the White House requested the meeting to try to avoid an imminent clash between the United States and Israel. Both Biden and Netanyahu drew “red lines” around the expected Israeli invasion of the city of Rafah, to which more than a million people were displaced from other areas of Gaza.

There is a belief in Washington that the collapse of negotiations over the detainees and the Israeli invasion of Rafah may lead to a breaking point in US-Israeli relations.

The Biden administration strongly opposes what it described as the Israeli operation in Rafah, and said it was concerned about the lack of an implementable plan that would protect the Palestinians.

Netanyahu said that Israel must enter Rafah to eliminate Hamas.

It is noteworthy that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the operation could prevent the entry of much-needed humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza, isolate Israel internationally and harm the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.

Biden surprised Netanyahu when he suggested during their phone call on Monday that the prime minister send a delegation to Washington to talk about the Rafah operation. This was the first time Israelis had heard about this, American and Israeli officials told Axios.

American officials: The White House realized that it is not enough to tell the Israelis what they should not do, but there is also a need to offer an American alternative

Two American officials said that the idea was discussed within the administration for several days as a way to move toward a more positive path with the Israelis.

“The fear was that negotiations on the hostage deal would collapse, and then the Israelis would go ahead with the invasion of Rafah, which would be the breaking point in US-Israeli relations,” one official said.

American officials said that the White House realized that it was not enough to tell the Israelis what not to do, but that there was also a need to provide an American alternative.

According to several sources, a number of alternatives to an immediate Israeli ground invasion of Rafah have been discussed within the administration in recent days.

US officials said one idea is to postpone the military operation in the city and focus on stabilizing the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, where famine is “imminent,” according to a UN-backed report released on Monday. This plan will also include building shelters for civilians evacuated from Rafah.

Reportedly, Washington will propose securing the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza as part of a joint American-Israeli-Egyptian plan to destroy tunnels under the border.

One of the officials said that the goal would be to reduce civilian casualties during the Israeli occupation army's invasion.

American officials say that another idea is to focus in the first phase on securing the Egyptian side of its border with Gaza as part of a joint plan between the United States, Egypt and Israel to destroy tunnels under the border and create infrastructure to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday during a meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that “out of respect for President (Joe Biden)” he agreed to send a delegation to Washington so that the administration could present its ideas to Israel, “especially on the humanitarian side.”

Netanyahu claimed, "We fully share this desire to facilitate an orderly exit of the population and provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population. We have been doing this since the beginning of the war."

He added that he is still determined to complete the elimination of Hamas, saying that it "requires the elimination of the remaining brigades in Rafah, and there is no way to achieve this without a ground incursion."

Netanyahu also said that he would send the minister close to him, Ron Dermer, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi to Washington early next week for talks.

They will be accompanied by a humanitarian affairs official in the Israeli army. The delegation will not include Israeli army officers responsible for military planning for the operation in Rafah, as the United States requested.