JERUSALEM - Israel will launch a ground offensive in the Rafah area of Gaza unless the hostages still held by Hamas are released by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in March, a member of the Israeli war Cabinet said on Feb 18.

Mr Benny Gantz pledged that the military would facilitate the evacuation of Gazan civilians in coordination with the United States and Egypt, in order to minimise 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 that civilians are allowed to leave beforehand and are sent to safe places.

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,” Mr Gantz said in a speech on Feb 18 to American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. “They can surrender, release the hostages, and this way, the residents of Gaza can celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan.” 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a ground operation in Rafah is essential for eliminating Hamas’ remaining battalions, and that those calling for Israel to stay out of the area are essentially calling for Israel to lose the war. 

Mr Gantz pledged to continue fighting until Israel’s goals are achieved, including removing the threat of Hamas and replacing it from Gaza completely, bringing the remaining estimated 130 hostages home, and removing the threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages have stumbled in recent days, as Mr Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ demands, calling the proposals “delusional”.

Mr Gantz is an opposition leader and former head of the Israel Defence 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, Mr Gantz is considered by the public to be the most suitable candidate to become the next prime minister, and his National Unity party is polling far ahead of Mr Netanyahu’s Likud.

Mr Gantz also told the Jewish leaders that he opposes unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, and that following the Oct 7 attack 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 has not said how many of those are combatants. 

The US and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and Israel has pledged to eliminate the group from the Gaza Strip.

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. 

Mr Netanyahu expressed outrage on Feb 18 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,” Mr Netanyahu said. BLOOMBERG