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07th Sep 2021

Israel carries out airstrike against Gaza “in response to Hamas launching incendiary balloons”

Clara Kelly

Hamas and Israel fought for 11 days back in May in what was the worst conflict between the two sides in years.

Israel has carried out another airstrike against Gaza “in response to Hamas launching incendiary balloons”.

The Israeli army blamed Hamas for the balloons and also fired artillery in north Gaza on Monday with medical sources telling AFP news that no one was killed during the strike

Earlier in the day, Israeli firefighters told the publication that incendiary balloons had caused three bushfires at sites close to the Gaza Strip.

“Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck a Hamas rocket manufacturing workshop, as well as a Hamas military compound in Khan Yunis,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

“The strikes were in response to Hamas launching incendiary balloons into Israeli territory,” the statement added.

Launching of makeshift balloons is a common tactic in Gaza, where Israel has blockaded for almost 15 years, with Israel militants frequently responding with airstrikes.

Just two months ago, an Israeli military aircraft attacked Hamas compounds in the Gaza Strip for the first time since a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt at the end of May.

The military claimed the attack was in response to the launching of incendiary balloons from the territory that caused fires in fields in southern Israel.

According to Reuters, the Israeli fire brigade said the incendiary balloons caused some 20 blazes in open fields in communities near the frontier.

In a statement, the Israeli military said that it was “ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting” in the face of what the Israeli militia called “terrorist attacks” from Hamas.

The ceasefire brought a halt to what was the fiercest fighting in the region in decades, fighting which went on for 11 days.

Israel’s security cabinet said at the time that it had voted unanimously in favour of a “mutual and unconditional” Gaza truce proposed by a mediator, Egypt.

The fighting was triggered by violence in Jerusalem, and Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes across the blockaded territory, which is home to more than two million Palestinians.

Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said in the past that the Israeli government should not tolerate incendiary balloons.

The Prime Minister said that she believes that Israel must retaliate as if Hamas had fired rockets into Israel.

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