Israel defence minister threatens to annex parts of Gaza

JERUSALEM: Israeli defence minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases remaining hostages.

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

Katz vowed to step up the assault, using civilian as well as military "pressure points" to defeat Hamas.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it has killed the head of Hamas' military intelligence, Osama Tabash, in southern Gaza. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.