"We have to go in. We can't negotiate now," Netanyahu was quoted as saying during a phone call with Biden on Sunday.
Israel formally declared a state of war on Sunday, a day after Hamas, a Palestinian group that controls the exclave of Gaza, launched rocket strikes and sent its fighters into Israeli territory. Some 300,000 Israeli reservists have been called to arms as part of preparations for the offensive.
Israeli and American sources familiar with the call told the media that Netanyahu wanted the offensive to "restore deterrence." He reportedly said that the Jewish state had no choice but to respond with force to avoid looking weak.
The same sources said Biden did not try to press Netanyahu or convince him not to go through with this plan. He also raised the issue of Israeli hostages in Gaza and asked Netanyahu about the possibility of Israel opening a second front along the border with Lebanon.