Israel threatens to annex parts of Gaza

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The warning came as Israel stepped up the renewed assault it launched on Tuesday, shattering the relative calm that had reigned in the war-battered territory since a January 19 ceasefire.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 11 people on Friday -- three in pre-dawn strikes and eight more during the daytime.

On Thursday, it had reported a death toll of 504 since the bombardment resumed, one of the highest since the war began more than 17 months ago with Hamas's attack on Israel.

"I ordered (the army) to seize more territory in Gaza... The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel," Katz said in a statement.

Should Hamas not comply, Katz also threatened "to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said his country was "opposed to any form of annexation whether it concerns the West Bank or the Gaza Strip".

The military urged residents of the Al-Salatin, Al-Karama and Al-Awda areas of southern Gaza to evacuate their homes on Friday ahead of a threatened strike.