The White House said it was "perplexed" and "disappointed" on Monday, by the cancelation of an Israeli delegation's planned visit to discuss United States concerns over a possible offensive in southern Gaza.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that; “it seems like the (Israeli) Prime Minister's office is choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don't need to."

Kirby had earlier said Washington was "very disappointed" the delegation would not be visiting, and that the Security Council abstention "does not represent a shift" in US policy.

"We've been consistent in our support (for) a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal," he said, referring to efforts to free the roughly 130 people still believed to be held in Gaza after they were seized in a shock Hamas attack on October 7.

Israel scrapped the visit of an Israeli delegation after the United States abstained from a UN Security Council vote demanding an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza,  a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said hurt Israel's fight against Palestinian militant group Hamas.