JERUSALEM 

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz on Friday said war on Gaza could continue during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 

In a recorded statement, Gantz said the fight in Gaza would not stop until retrieving all Israeli captives held in Gaza. "The fire could continue into the month of Ramadan."

Gantz's remarks come as the month of Ramadan is observed by Muslims across the world falls in early March this year, while the Palestinians in Gaza suffer the Israeli devastating onslaught initiated since Oct. 7.

Talks on a possible cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Hamas group have not so far succeeded.

Gantz threatened that "if the hostages are not returned, we will expand the war into Rafah." 

"We are preparing for this, working in collaboration with our partners including Egypt," he added.

Gantz claimed that the Israeli army would implement a plan to "evacuate the population to safe areas - and start operating."

Around 1.5 million Palestinians are living as refugees in Rafah, which straddles the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It also serves as an entry point for humanitarian aid.

The city was bombed earlier this month by the Israeli army, which targeted 14 buildings and killed around a hundred civilians and is threatening to launch a ground operation.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The ensuing Israeli attack had killed at least 28,775, injured more than 68,552 others, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar