More than 100 Palestinians were killed in overnight strikes on Monday, increasing the death toll in the Gaza war to more than 29,000, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
Fighting was the most severe in Khan Younis, just north of Rafah.
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, said the military is ready to push further into Rafah in the month of Ramadan, beginning March 10, if hostages are not returned.
He said Israel will evacuate civilians in “dialogue” with the Egyptians and Americans “to minimize civilian casualties as much as possible.”
Egypt has emphasized that it does not want Palestinians crossing into its territory and satellite images show a walled enclosure near the Gaza border. It is unclear where Palestinian civilians would flee.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued his vow of total victory over Hamas despite mounting international pressure to end the war.
The army revealed footage on Monday that depicted combat troops with canine units in house-to-house combat and tanks passing by flattened buildings.
Palestinians are facing starvation after grinding animal feed into flour and drinking contaminated water.
Hamas has demanded a total withdrawal of Israeli forces, which has been refused. Talks facilitated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have failed.
The World Health Organization has said Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is no longer operational after it has been besieged for more than one week.
Israel said it discovered medicine there meant for hostages that were never delivered and that it has detained 100 suspects. Seventy staff members, including intensive care doctors, have been arrested.
The United Nations top court has opened a week of hearings starting Monday to review the legal consequences of Israel’s 57-year occupation of Palestine.
The hearings requested by the General Assembly are separate from South Africa’s case alleging genocide.
Israel has argued that any settlement will be reached through direct negotiation without preconditions.
