Far-right allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are raising pressure on the embattled leader to reject a new Gaza ceasefire, jeopardising his government’s stability if he backs away from an assault on Hamas in Rafah, Reuters reports.

If a ceasefire is agreed, the attack plans will be shelved in favour of a “period of sustained calm”, according to a source briefed on the talks, during which a few dozen hostages of Hamas will be released in return for Palestinian prisoners.

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Netanyahu not to back away from a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, saying if it fails to stamp out Hamas, “a government headed by you will have no right to exist”.

Smotrich was swiftly followed by police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who reposted on X a Jan 30 remark: “Reminder: An irresponsible deal = the government’s dissolution.”

Netanyahu’s office and his conservative Likud party have not issued a response to the ministers’ statements. His spokespeople were not immediately available for comment on Monday, which marked the Jewish holiday of Passover.

But Benny Gantz, a centrist former defence minister who joined Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet in October, offered his own rebuke, saying that freeing hostages took precedence over an assault on Rafah. The rejection of a responsible deal that would secure a hostage release, Gantz said in a statement, would strip the government of any legitimacy — given its Oct 7 security failure and the clamour in Israel for the return of hostages.