President Biden reassured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is not trying to undermine him politically by criticizing the Israeli government, Axios reported.

Biden gave his assurance to Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday, which came after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last Thursday that Netanyahu is an "obstacle to peace" and called for new Israeli elections. Biden said Schumer gave a "good speech."

Sources told Axios that Netanyahu complained about Schumer's speech and Biden's approval of it, which prompted Biden to say that he was not looking to undermine the Israeli leader or interfere in Israel's internal politics.

Biden and other Democrats in the US have tried to distance themselves from Netanyahu's government while also supporting Israel's mass slaughter of Palestinians and its famine blockade of Gaza. But the criticism stopped short of changing policy as the United States continued to provide Israel with unconditional military and political aid.

Biden and Netanyahu also agreed during the call that Israel would send a delegation to Washington to discuss its plans to invade Rafah, the city of Gaza located on the Egyptian border and inhabited by 1.5 million Palestinians. American officials were warning against a large-scale invasion, and were proposing a more limited operation.

According to the White House, Biden expressed to Netanyahu his “deep concerns” about the possibility of Israel conducting a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million displaced civilians are currently seeking shelter after fleeing fighting in the north. But Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he ignored Biden's concerns and reiterated that he planned to attack the city.

Netanyahu told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee: “I made it clear to the president as much as possible that we are determined to complete the elimination of these brigades in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion.”

Netanyahu said that Israel is under "international pressure," but said that Israel "rejects in order to achieve the goals of the war."

It is noteworthy that the directors of the American intelligence services unanimously agreed on Monday, March 11, that Israel cannot achieve Netanyahu’s goal of “eliminating” Hamas.