Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will not send a delegation as planned to Washington after the United States refrained from vetoing a U.N. Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, writes Reuters.

Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office, said that Washington’s failure to block the proposal was a “clear retreat” from its previous position, and would hurt war efforts against Hamas, as well as efforts to release over 130 hostages in Gaza captivity.

“In light of the change in the American position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation would not leave”, his office said.
The U.N. Security Council voted to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from the vote.

The White House denied that the U.S. abstention reflected a change in American policy.

The high-level delegation was due to travel to Washington to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter.