GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israeli aircraft bombed several sites belonging to the Hamas militant organization in the Gaza Strip for the fifth consecutive night, the Israeli army announced sunday morning.
Shortly after the announcement, the army said Palestinian militants in Gaza had fired two rockets at southern Israel that had been intercepted through air defense systems, with no immediate injuries reported.
The army said the airstrikes were a reaction to incendiary balloons sent through Hamas-affiliated teams across the Gaza border into Israeli territory.Balloons have dozens of fires that have burned Israeli farmland in recent days.
On Saturday, dozens of Palestinians took part in the middle of the nightly protests along the gaza-Israel perimeter fence.The army said protesters “burned tires, threw explosive devices and grenades into the security fence, and tried to manipulate them.”
TheGaza’s Ministry of Health said two protesters were wounded by Israeli fire.
Israel has Hamas, which directs Gaza, for all violent acts of Palestinian territory.
After months of calm reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic, the Gaza-Israel border has become volatile over the following week.
Khalil al-Hayya, a high-ranking Hamas figure, on Saturday accused Israel of not complying with a truce to alleviate the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas regained it in 2007.
He told Hamas al-Aqsa tv that the other Palestinians in Gaza were suffering a “slow death” due to the blockade.”The area of confrontation with the enemy unfolds day by day in reaction to its continued aggression,” he said.
He said Egyptian mediators would go to the region to talk about strengthening the truce, but that no timetable had been set.