WASHINGTON – Wartime relations between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sank to a new low on March 25, with the US allowing passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations and drawing a sharp rebuke from the Israeli leader.

Mr Netanyahu abruptly scrapped a visit to Washington this week by a senior delegation to discuss Israel’s threatened offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after the US abstained in a Security Council vote that demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian militants.

The suspension of that meeting puts a major new obstacle in the way of efforts by the United States, concerned about a deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, to get Mr Netanyahu to consider alternatives to a ground invasion of Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians.

The threat of such an offensive has increased tensions between the long-time allies and raised questions about whether the US might restrict military aid if Mr Netanyahu defies Mr Biden and presses ahead anyway.

“This shows that trust between the Biden administration and Netanyahu may be breaking down," said Dr Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations. “If the crisis is not managed carefully, it’s only going to continue to worsen.”

Mr Biden’s decision to abstain at the UN, coming after months of mostly adhering to long-time US policy of shielding Israel at the world body, appeared to reflect growing American frustration with the Israeli leader.

The President, who is running for re-election in November, faces pressure not just from America’s allies but also from a growing number of fellow Democrats to rein in Israel’s military response to Hamas’ Oct 7 attack in southern Israel.

Mr Netanyahu confronts domestic challenges of his own, not least his far-right coalition members’ demands for a hard line against the Palestinians. He must also convince hostages’ families that he is doing everything for their release while facing frequent protests calling for his resignation.

As Mr Netanyahu’s office announced the cancellation of the visit, he said the failure of the US to veto the resolution was a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt Israel’s war efforts.

US officials said the Biden administration was perplexed by Israel’s decision and considered it an overreaction, insisting there had been no change in policy.

Washington had mostly avoided the word “ceasefire” earlier in the nearly six-month-old war in the Gaza Strip and had used its veto power at the UN to shield Israel as it retaliated against Hamas.

But as famine looms in Gaza and amid growing global pressure for a truce in the war that the Palestinian health authorities say has killed some 32,000 Palestinians, the US abstained on a call for a ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks.

The challenge now for Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu is to keep their differences from escalating out of control, analysts say.

Dr Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think-tank in Washington, said there was no reason this should be a “mortal blow” to relations.

“So I don’t think the door is closed to anything,” he added.

But the US abstention adds to a deepening rift between Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu, who have known each other for years but have had a testy relationship even in the best of times.

Earlier in March, Mr Biden said in an MSNBC interview that a Rafah invasion would be a “red line”, although he added that the defence of Israel was “critical” and there was no way “I’m going to cut off all weapons so that they don’t have the Iron Dome (missile defence system) to protect them”.

Mr Netanyahu dismissed Mr Biden's criticism and vowed to press forward in Rafah, the last part of the Gaza Strip where Israeli forces have not carried out a ground offensive, although US officials say there are no signs of an imminent operation.

That was followed with US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, describing Mr Netanyahu on March 14 as an obstacle to peace and calling for new elections in Israel to replace him.

Mr Biden called it a “good speech”.

But Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on March 20 he was thinking of inviting Mr Netanyahu, who spoke by video link to Republican senators last week, to address Congress. That would be seen as a jab at Mr Biden, giving Mr Netanyahu a high-profile forum to air grievances against the US administration.

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told Reuters that Mr Netanyahu appeared to be working with Republicans to “weaponise the US-Israel relationship in favour of the right wing”.

Mr Biden’s 2024 re-election bid limits his options; he needs to avoid giving Republicans an issue to seize on with pro-Israel voters, while also halting the erosion of support from progressive Democrats dismayed by his strong backing for Israel.

Mr Netanyahu, aware that polls show him being soundly defeated in any election held now, knows there is wide support for continuing the war in Gaza among an Israeli population still deeply traumatised by the Oct 7 assault.

So he appears willing to risk testing Washington’s tolerance.

All members of Mr Netanyahu’s emergency unity government support continuing the war until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are returned, and there has been little sign of willingness to meet US calls for moderation, despite the growing risk of international isolation.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-right lawmaker, said Israel was a partner of the US, but the US was not its “patron state”. REUTERS