Israeli minister will bring down Netanyahu if Rafah is not invaded

Hardline Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned on Sunday that he would bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if a planned military ground assault on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip is called off.

Smotrich's warning came amid attempts in Egypt to secure a fresh ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.

"Agreement with the Egyptian deal is a humiliating capitulation and grants the Nazis a victory on the backs of hundreds of heroic soldiers who have fallen in the battle," Smotrich said in a video post on social media. The finance minister regularly refers to Hamas as "Nazis."

Agreement to the deal would represent a "death penalty for the hostages and immediate existential danger to the state of Israel," he said.

Should Netanyahu surrender and withdraw the order to invade Rafah, a government headed by him would "no longer have a right to exist," Smotrich said. Taking Rafah was essential for the destruction of Hamas, the restoration of security along the Israeli-Gaza border and the return of the hostages, he added.

He termed the time a "fateful moment for the Israeli people" and called on Netanyahu to show courage.

Netanyahu's government is undertaking a last-minute attempt to agree a ceasefire with Hamas along with the release of hostages before ordering troops into Rafah. A Hamas delegation is expected in Cairo on Monday to discuss details.

A high-ranking Hamas official said it would examine the latest Israeli proposal in a post on Telegram on Saturday.

Israel is expecting a response by Monday, according to a report on Israeli television, which added that Foreign Minister Israel Katz had said Israel was prepared to postpone the military assault on Rafah if a hostage deal was agreed.

The deal is reported to be limited to women, the aged and the sick among the hostages.