Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz held the Palestinian ruling Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas) responsible for a military escalation in the Gaza Strip, local newspaper Yedioth Anronoth reported on Friday.

"Hamas bears full responsibility" for the military escalation, Peretz said in a meeting with Gaza Division combat soldiers, adding that the world "understands it is a no-choice confrontation. "

Meanwhile, the minister said that the Israeli army were trying to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza operation while accusing the Palestinian militants of using civilians including children as shelters, said the report.

On Friday morning, the Israel Air Force renewed air raids against Palestinian gunmen in northern Gaza after a bloody day of clashes that left an Israeli soldier and 19 Palestinians dead including several civilians.

The Israeli army has expanded a broad ground operation in Gaza aimed to rescue an Israeli soldier abducted by Gazan militants on June 25 and stop the Palestinian rocket firing.

Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, took part in the June 25 cross-border raid on an Israeli army post, during which two other Israeli soldiers were also killed.

But the Hamas-led Palestinian government said that it did not order the attack and had no foreknowledge of the abduction, accusing Israel of using the kidnapping as a pretext to topple its rule.

According to a poll published on Friday, 82 percent of Israeli respondents agreed on killing Hamas leaders who Israel believed was behind the abduction of 19-year-old Corporal Galid Shalit.

The survey was carried out by Israeli daily Maariv on Wednesday, the day before Israeli troops pushed into northern Gaza in large numbers.

Israel has warned that it might assassinate Hamas leaders unless Shalit is freed safely.

Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, took control the Palestinian government in late March after winning January elections. It called off a 16-month-old truce last month after seven Palestinian civilians were killed in a blast on the Gaza beach that Palestinians blamed on Israel. Israel denied responsibility.

Source: Xinhua