In the initial aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked ongoing retaliatory airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza, President Joe Biden and his administration have used strong rhetoric in support of Israel and its current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Behind the scenes, however, there are reportedly discussions about how "Netanyahu’s political days are numbered" and who should replace him as Israel's leader, according to Politico.

In fact, per the outlet's unnamed sources, Biden has privately talked with Netanyahu about how he should start to consider "lessons he would share with his eventual successor."

Netanyahu blamed for intelligence and security failures

Politico spoke with several anonymous current and former U.S. officials and reported that the general consensus in and around the Biden administration is that Israeli PM Netanyahu is likely governing on borrowed time and may not last in his position longer than a few more months.

"There’s going to have to be a reckoning within Israeli society about what happened," one unnamed official said. "Ultimately, the buck stops on the prime minister’s desk."

That comment was likely in reference to the apparent intelligence and security failures that Hamas exploited to conduct the horrendous atrocities of Oct. 7 that resulted in more than 1,400 mostly civilian Israeli deaths, thousands more wounded, and hundreds taken captive by the Gaza-based Islamist terror group.

That idea did not form in a vacuum for the administration, though, but rather is in line with internal Israeli public polling about a week after the Hamas attack that showed a dramatic drop in support for Netanyahu and his Likud Party and other "hardline" allied parties in contrast to a sharp uptick in support for the more centrist National Unity led by former Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Administration not a fan of Netanyahu, making plans for Israel's future without him

Politico reported that despite the strong public rhetoric in support of Israel and PM Netanyahu from President Biden and other top administration officials over the past few weeks, the Israeli leader is not favored in private in large part due to his prior outspoken support for former President Donald Trump and opposition to former President Barack Obama, as well as his "hardline positions" against a Palestinian state and in support of internal reforms that Democrats disapprove of.

That has likely contributed to the alleged "day after" scenario talks about what will occur in Israel once the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas dies down, including the status of the U.S.-Israel relationship, how the Palestinian territory of Gaza will be stabilized and governed, and who will actually be in charge of Israel once the dust settles, particularly once the full extent of the Oct. 7 attacks and subsequent military response is revealed.

Of course, the outlet noted that its report has been publicly denied and disputed, with a National Security Council spokesperson saying on the record that Netanyahu's future "has not been discussed by the President and is not being discussed."

Further, with regard to the alleged quiet conversations between Biden and Netanyahu about an eventual replacement, an Israeli official at the embassy in Washington D.C. told Politico, "At no point in recent weeks did the internal political scenario reported in this article come up in the conversations between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu."

Administration worried about international public blowback over strong support for Israel

Relatedly, NBC News reported on growing internal dissent within the Biden administration with regard to the strong public support shown for Israel and PM Netanyahu by President Biden and others at the expense of sufficient concern shown for the impact the ongoing conflict is having on average Palestinians residing in Gaza.

There are said to be worries among some that the U.S., by aligning itself so closely with Israel, will find itself increasingly isolated on the global stage and shouldering a share of the blame for Israel's retaliatory actions.

That concern about an international public relations backfire has already led to an apparent slight shift in rhetoric with more talk about supporting the Palestinian people with humanitarian aid and unsubtle warnings for Israel to abide by international laws and norms and calls for its military to take extra precautions to limit or avoid unnecessary civilian casualties -- a seemingly impossible task when the enemy is well-known for hiding amid the civilian population and exploiting them as human shields against the Israelis.