Israel strikes Gaza in response to incendiary balloon throws

Published on : 07/02/2021 – 01:31

Israel carried out airstrikes on Islamist targets in Gaza on the night of Friday, July 2, in retaliation for the launching of incendiary balloons from the Palestinian enclave that caused fires in Israel.

The Israeli strikes hit training sites without injuring anyone, security sources from the Islamist movement Hamas, ruling in the Gaza Strip, said. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the strikes to AFP.

Incendiary balloons launched from Gaza sparked four fires in Israel on Thursday, according to a statement from Israeli firefighters. The small-scale fires were quickly brought under control, according to firefighters.

On June 18, the Israeli air force bombed targets of the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for throwing incendiary balloons at Israel.

Cease-fire

These were the second bombings since the entry into force on May 21 of a ceasefire that ended an 11-day war with Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, an impoverished Palestinian enclave of two million inhabitants under Israeli blockade for more than 15 years.

From May 10 to 21, 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, including fighters, according to local authorities. In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza killed 13 people, including a soldier, according to police and military.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a military ceremony Thursday that Israel “does not look forward to fighting” but that if it is “necessary”, the Jewish state “will not hesitate” with a “massive response and strong “.

With AFP