Israel's Ben-Gvir threatens to withdraw support from Netanyahu unless Rafah operation goes ahead

Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does "not have a mandate to continue serving as prime minister" if he agrees to a ceasefire without "an extensive attack on Rafah" that would defeat Hamas.

Without Ben-Gvir's support, Netanyahu would lose his majority in the Knesset, giving the extremist minister strong leverage.

The minister's comments come as a first round of negotiations for a potential ceasefire and an exchange of captives ended in Cairo, with conflicting reports over how much progress was made. Initial reports said significant progress was made, but that was denied by both Israeli and Hamas sources.