Senior officials from the United States and Israel held a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss alternatives to a large-scale invasion of Rafah as the Biden administration seeks to dissuade the Israeli government from launching a major military operation in the besieged Gaza City.

Before the meeting began, a U.S. official said Biden administration representatives would focus on emphasizing the "alternative ways" they believe Israel can achieve its goal of dismantling Hamas without launching a large-scale incursion in Rafah, where more than a million hungry Palestinians live, taking shelter with nowhere to escape to.

An Israeli official told CNN that today's meeting was scheduled to last two hours, and among the U.S. representatives were senior officials Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, while the Israeli delegation was expected to be headed by Israel's National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

The Israeli official said representatives from the Israel Defense Forces and other Israeli security agencies were scheduled to attend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had canceled a meeting scheduled for last week after the United States refused to obstruct a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas – indicators of the ongoing conflict and rising tension between Israel and its strongest allies.

An official said both sides were still working on holding an in-person meeting at some point in the future. Pentagon officials exchanged some alternatives regarding Rafah with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant when he was in the city last week.

Netanyahu said Biden administration opposition to the Rafah invasion does not deter him. He told members of Congress last week that Israel "has no choice" but to move into Rafah, saying "Israel’s very existence is at stake," and Netanyahu assured the delegation that the remaining displaced Palestinians in Rafah can "simply move."

The meeting came at a time when Israelis and Americans expressed increasing frustration over how their governments are handling the conflict in Gaza.

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem over the weekend demanding Netanyahu's ouster – the largest protests in the country since the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas, while recent events held by Biden, including a high-level fundraising campaign last week in New Delhi, saw Biden repeatedly confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters alongside former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

After his remarks in New York were interrupted, Biden said: "There are far too many innocent casualties – Israelis and Palestinians." But he added, "You cannot forget that Israel is in a position where its very existence is at stake."

However, Biden said, "We actually have to stop efforts... that lead to the deaths of a large number of innocent civilians, especially children."

Biden’s advisors have been studying various options for weeks regarding what the U.S. response should be to a Rafah invasion. Officials have warned Israel that it risks becoming internationally ostracized if the invasion begins, which U.S. officials say would lead to a humanitarian disaster.

Vice President Kamala Harris left the door open last week to unspecified consequences for Israel if it decided to proceed.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported that more than 32,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7.