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.