President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday morning a White House official and National Security Council spokesperson said, as Israel appeared closer to launching an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning as a potential ground assault in Rafah looms and as negotiations over a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel have stalled.

The White House said on Monday it was reviewing a response by Hamas to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and continued to press Israel not to launch a large-scale military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

President Joe Biden on Monday urgently warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as the divide between the two leaders continues to grow along with the mounting Palestinian death toll.

Throughout its eight-month war on Gaza, Israel has been willing to reject or ignore the advice of its most important international ally, the US.

Israeli ground forces seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, though the White House does not believe the action was a part of the major military operation Israel had been planning.

President Joe Biden is facing more critical moments this week that will test his fraught relationship with his base over Israel’s war in Gaza and potentially widen the partisan split about the Jewish state that has been building for years.

Jordan's King Abdullah told U.S. President Joe Biden in a private meeting on Monday that an Israeli offensive in Rafah would lead to a "new massacre" of Palestinian civilians and urged the international community to take urgent action.