Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned the increasing criticism from his ally the United States against his leadership amid the devastating war with Hamas, describing calls for new elections as “completely inappropriate.”

In recent days, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the country and a strong supporter of Israel, called for new elections in Israel, saying Netanyahu is “off track.” U.S. President Joe Biden expressed support for the “strong speech” delivered by Schumer and earlier accused Netanyahu of harming Israel due to the huge number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel would never call for new American elections after the September 11, 2001 attacks and condemned Schumer’s remarks as inappropriate.

He said, “We are not a banana republic; the people of Israel will choose when elections will be held and who will be elected, and this is not something that will be imposed on us.”

When asked if he would commit to holding new elections after the war ends, Netanyahu said, “I think this is a matter for the Israeli public to decide.”

The United States, which has provided major military and diplomatic support to Israel, also expressed concerns about the planned Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told Fox that the United States has not yet seen an Israeli plan concerning Rafah.

The United States supports a new round of talks aimed at ensuring a ceasefire in exchange for the return of Israeli hostages who were captured in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas.

The Israeli delegation for those talks is expected to leave for Qatar after Sunday evening meetings of the security cabinet and war cabinet, which will provide guidance for the negotiations.

Despite the talks, Netanyahu made it clear he would not back down from the fighting that has claimed the lives of more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. It has been over five months since the Hamas attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu said that calls for elections now – which polls show he would lose badly – would force Israel to halt the fighting and would paralyze the country for six months.

Netanyahu also reiterated his determination to attack Hamas in Rafah, saying his government has approved military plans for such an operation.

He added, “We will operate in Rafah. This will take several weeks, but it will happen,” and the operation is supposed to include evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians, though it is unclear how Israel will do this.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi also repeated his warning that any Israeli ground attack in Rafah would have “serious repercussions on the entire region.” Egypt says pushing Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula would jeopardize the peace treaty with Israel, which is a cornerstone of regional stability.

“We are also very concerned about the risks that a large-scale attack in Rafah might pose to vulnerable civilians,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after meeting with el-Sissi. “This must be avoided at all costs.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after meeting Netanyahu on Sunday, warned that “the more desperate the situation for people in Gaza becomes, the more the question arises: regardless of how important the objective is, can such horrendous costs be justified, or can this goal justify it? Are there other ways to achieve your goal?”

Germany is one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, and given the memories of the Holocaust, it often treads carefully when criticizing Israel.

Alon Pinkas, former Israeli Consul General in New York and a candid critic of Netanyahu, said the prime minister's comments align with his efforts to find someone else to blame if Israel fails to achieve its goal of destroying Hamas.

Pinkas said, “He is deliberately looking for a conflict with the United States so he can blame Biden.”

Both sides have political stakes in this conflict, as the Biden administration is under increasing pressure from progressive Democrats and some American Arab supporters to restrain Israel’s war against Hamas. Meanwhile, Netanyahu wants to show his nationalist base that he can withstand global pressure, even from Israel’s closest ally.

However, pressure also comes from within, as thousands again protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening against Netanyahu's government, demanding new elections and an agreement for the release of hostages. Large sectors of the Israeli public want to reach an agreement, fearing the hostages being held in poor conditions and running out of time to bring them home alive.

The Israeli attack has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents from their homes. A quarter of Gaza’s population suffers from hunger, according to the United Nations.

Airlifts continue by the United States and other countries, while deliveries have started via a new sea route, but relief groups say more land routes and reduced Israeli restrictions on them are needed to meet humanitarian needs in any meaningful way.

Chef José Andrés of World Central Kitchen, who organized tons of food delivered by sea, told NBC, “Of course, humanitarian aid must be moved by land, and we must have at least two or three other entry points into Gaza.”

The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 31,645 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its counts but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Israel says Hamas is responsible for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated residential areas.

The Ministry of Health confirmed on Sunday that the bodies of 92 people killed in Israeli shelling arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 24 hours. It added that hospitals also received 130 injured people.

At least 11 people from the Thabet family, including five children and a woman, were killed in an air raid on Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and a journalist from the Associated Press. The body of an infant was among the dead.