Israel announced renewed ground operations in Gaza on Wednesday and issued what it called a "last warning" to residents of the Palestinian territory to return hostages and remove Hamas from power.Israeli forces this week conducted the deadliest wave of air strikes since the start of a truce in January,

Israel said it sent ground troops back into the center and south of the Gaza Strip, expanding a military operation that began with a wave of airstrikes a day earlier that Palestinian authorities said killed hundreds of people.

The military said it had retaken part of the Netzarim Corridor that divides northern Gaza from the south, and from where it had previously withdrawn as part of a ceasefire that began in January. That truce was shattered Tuesday by Israeli airstrikes that killed more than 400 Palestinians,