3 yıl önce

Israeli strikes target Gaza in 'response to fire balloons'

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the strike that Tel Aviv's forces said had targeted Hamas positions in Gaza.

Reuters

A machinery works to remove the debris atop a building damaged in Israeli air strikes during the fighting between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City

The Israeli military has said its aircraft have bombed Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian territory.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the strike that targeted what the military said on Saturday was a rocket launching site and a compound belonging to Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza.

Hamas had no immediate comment.

Since a May 21 ceasefire ended 11 days of Israeli aggression on Gaza, Palestinians there have sporadically launched balloons laden with incendiary material across the border, causing fires that have burned fields in Israel.

Palestinians say the balloons aim to pressure Israel to ease restrictions on the coastal enclave that were tightened during the May fighting.

Balloon launches had mostly ebbed after Israel eased some restrictions on Gaza.

But on Friday, balloons were again launched from Gaza, causing at least four brush fires in areas near the Israel-Gaza frontier.

The Israeli military said its air strikes were in "response to continual launches of incendiary balloons from Gaza into Israel throughout the day."

The blazes along Gaza broke out on Friday as Israel separately traded fire over its northern border with Lebanon's Hezbollah, in a third day of cross-border salvoes amid wider regional tensions with Iran.