The White House is “disappointed” that Israel canceled a delegation’s planned visit to the U.S. to discuss the expected military invasion of Rafah, in southern Gaza, amid ongoing concerns from President Joe Biden, an administration spokesman said Monday.

Israel pulled its delegation after the U.S. allowed, through abstention, for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The resolution also called for the unconditional release of hostages being held by Hamas terrorists, though it did not tie the two conditions together.

The resolution passed in a 14-0 vote, with the U.S. abstaining due to the lack of condemnation of Hamas, officials said.

MORE: UN Security Council adopts Gaza cease-fire resolution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office, in announcing the delegation would no longer be visiting, called the U.S. abstention a change in position — something the Biden administration rejected.

“We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington, D.C., to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters as news broke of Israel’s decision.

Kirby maintained that the U.S. abstaining from the U.N. vote was not a shift in policy, saying the U.S. has been “clear and consistent” about support for a hostage deal but that without language condemning Hamas in the resolution, the U.S. could not support it.

Kirby sidestepped questions about why the U.S. was willing to abstain now rather than veto the resolution, as it has done to previous such proposals in the past.

“It talks about an immediate and sustainable cease-fire and to secure the immediate release of all the hostages as well as alleviating the tremendous suffering of the people of civilians in Gaza,” Kirby said. “Those are the same principles that we’ve been arguing for now for many months.”

President Biden requested the delegation in a call last week with Netanyahu in light of what the White House called his “deep concerns” for civilians should Israel launch a large-scale incursion into Rafah, a city bordering Egypt, where more than 1 million civilians are thought to be sheltering as Israel continues to go after Hamas fighters in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Kirby on Monday would not give insight into who would have taken part in the canceled talks between the White House and the Israelis, and he noted administration officials are still meeting with Israelli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday and Tuesday.

Those discussions will include “ample” discussion of Israel’s plan for Rafah, Kirby said.

MORE: Harris says US has not ruled out ‘consequences’ if Israel invades Rafah

The administration has said a major ground operation in Rafah would be a “mistake” and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 31,000 people have died since the war began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

Vice President Kamala Harris, in an interview with ABC News, didn’t rule out consequences if Israel were to invade Rafah.

Netanyahu insists that going into Rafah is crucial for dismantling Hamas’ fighting capabilities to prevent future terror attacks.

“We are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion,” he said last week.

The Israelis have also said they could move civilians from the city to “humanitarian islands,” though the U.S. remains publicly skeptical.

When pressed on Monday by ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang about how the U.S. can convince Israeli officials to change their stance on Rafah without meeting with the delegation, Kirby replied, “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”

“It’s certainly not ideal they won’t be coming to D.C. … that doesn’t mean our ability to talk to them and have conversations have been eliminated,” he said.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

White House ‘disappointed’ Israel canceled delegation to discuss Rafah after UN cease-fire vote originally appeared on abcnews.go.com