Talks resume on bringing Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss Gaza operation, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Talks have restarted aimed at bringing top Israeli officials to Washington to discuss potential military operations in Gaza, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a planned visit this week because he was angry about the U.S. vote on a U.N. cease-fire resolution, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.

No date has been finalized for strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to come to Washington, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official said the White House had reached out with the goal of setting a new meeting. The official was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister “did not authorize the departure of the delegation to Washington.”

The prime minister canceled the trip this week after the U.N. vote to demand a cease-fire in Hamas-run Gaza; the U.S. abstained from the vote but did not veto it. Netanyahu accused the United States of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the resolution to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.