(Bloomberg) -- Israel will launch a ground offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah unless hostages still held by Hamas are released by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan next month, a member of the Israeli war cabinet said on Sunday.
“The world must know and Hamas leaders must know: if by Ramadan our hostages are not home the fighting will continue to the Rafah area,” Benny Gantz said in a speech Sunday to American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
If there is an assault, he pledged that the military would facilitate the evacuation of Gazan civilians in coordination with the US and Egypt to minimize casualties. Israel has been under intense pressure, including from some of its closest allies, to scrap the planned assault on Rafah or at least ensure civilians are allowed to leave beforehand and are sent to safe places.
Why Rafah Is Raising Fears in Israel-Hamas War: QuickTake
More than one million Palestinians fled to Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military focused on northern and central areas during the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Ramadan, a month during which Muslims fast in the day, is expected to start on March 10.
“To those saying the price is too high, I say this very clearly: Hamas has a choice,” Gantz said. “They can surrender, release the hostages, and this way, the residents of Gaza can celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan.”
It was unclear from Gantz's remarks if Israel is insisting on both a release of captives and a surrender from Hamas to stop the attack on Rafah, and — if the group doesn't lay down its arms but lets captives go — whether an assault would only be held off until after Ramadan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Gantz's speech.
Netanyahu has previously said a ground operation in Rafah is essential to eliminate Hamas' remaining battalions and that those calling for Israel to stay out of the area are essentially calling for Israel to lose the war.
Gantz is an opposition leader and former head of the Israel Defense Forces. The war cabinet, made up of just five people, was formed days after the war erupted on Oct. 7 and is meant to see Israel through the conflict.
According to recent surveys, Gantz is more popular than Netanyahu among Israelis and is considered the most suitable candidate to become the next prime minister. His National Unity party is polling far ahead of Netanyahu's Likud.
Gantz said Israel would continue fighting until its goals are achieved, which, in addition to destroying Hamas and bringing the remaining hostages in Gaza home, include removing the threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He also told the Jewish leaders he opposes unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, and that following the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, such a step is not the way to regional stability and peace.
The war with Hamas began when the Iran-backed group infiltrated from Gaza and carried out attacks across southern Israel, leaving about 1,200 people dead and taking more than 250 hostage. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing war. It hasn't said how many of those are combatants.
Around 130 people are still thought to be held hostage in Gaza, though the Israeli government says only about 100 are alive.
Egypt Tensions
Rafah is close to Gaza's border with Egypt and the main point of entry for aid into the Mediterranean enclave. The Egyptian government has consistently said it won't take in refugees en masse, arguing that would pose security risks and be a betrayal of the Palestinian cause for an independent state because Israel may not let them back in to Gaza again.
Israel's said that people in Rafah can instead move to parts of Gaza further to the north.
In recent days, satellite imagery has shown construction activity in Egypt about two miles from the border with Gaza, with land being cleared and a wall being built. That's prompted speculation the country is making contingency plans to host Palestinians fleeing the conflict — something Egyptian officials strenuously denied over the weekend.
The head of the State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, repeated Egypt's complete rejection of any “forced or voluntary” displacement of Palestinians from their land. “Egypt will never be part of it,” he said.
Foreign Ministry Sameh Shoukry echoed those comments.
“We are not preparing anything on our side of the border — whatever is happening is the ordinary maintenance of our border and our border fortifications,” he told Sky News. “It is in no way related to providing any camps or shelter on our side of the border.”
The U.S. and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization. The conduct of the war, which apart from the civilian causalities has also destroyed thousands of homes and triggered shortages of food and water, has led some countries to allege that Israel is committing war crimes.
Those charges are strongly denied by Israeli authorities.
Read more: Israel Summons Brazil Ambassador After Lula's Comments on Gaza
Netanyahu expressed outrage Sunday at remarks by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who said Israel was carrying out genocide in Gaza and compared Israel's actions to Adolf Hitler's policy of murdering Jews.
“Comparing Israel to the Nazi Holocaust and Hitler is crossing a red line,” Netanyahu said.
(Updates with context on attack and Ramadan)
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