Pro-Hamas activists launched Arson balloons into Israel, causing multiple fires to pressure Israel to ease the blockade and resume Qatari aid to Gaza; renewed border violence.
The Israeli military struck two targets reported as Hamas military compound and their rocket launching site in the Gaza Strip late Monday night due to the incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave.
The Arson filled balloons spawned bush fires in Southern Israel, so said the Israeli military.
While these were the first strikes under the coalition government headed by the new Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who ousted the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
Incendiary balloons, which have become increasingly popular amongst Islamic activists and Hamas, were the first to launch after two months of the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the group that governs Gaza.
It was a repercussion, nudging Israel to ease the blockade on the territory and over shuns in indirect negotiations with Israel for resuming the financial aid to Gaza from Qatar.
In the photographs and videos posted on social media, one of the incendiary balloons released by Pro-Hamas activists stated, “Time is running out”.
The IDF spokesperson confirmed that the IDF struck targets in the Gaza strip due to the fires set ablaze by the incendiary balloons released early Sunday.
No immediate casualties in the air attack were reported, and the targets were confirmed to be a weapon production facility and a rocket launch site operated by Hamas.
The Israeli fighter jets aimed at Hamas weapons manufacturing site established in Khan Younis, home to two million people, and they also blitzkrieg a “terror tunnel entrance in Jabalya”.
Another location that IDF struck on the Gaza strip was “A Hamas underground rocket launch site adjacent to civilian homes and a school in Shujaiya”.
In a statement, the Israeli army said the firing of incendiary balloons has “proved once again that the terrorist organization Hamas continues to lead and degenerate Gaza into a terrorist state”.
They also affirmed to strongly respond to further attempts at terrorism, holding Hamas responsible for everything in Gaza.
Cross-border Violence Spiked
Last week Israel announced that it had resumed the financial aid from Qatar to Gaza in response to the violence at borders.
Earlier this year, Egypt mediated the ceasefire that halted the 11-day Hamas-Israel fighting in May when Israel strikes killed 260 Palestinians and militants killed 13 people in Israel.
With rising cross-border violence, Palestinians sporadically sending incendiary balloons into Israel has started bolstering the short-lived truce.
Palestinians say the incendiary balloons were aimed at easing restrictions on Gaza. On Saturday, Israeli troops shot and wounded many Palestinian protesters who gathered near the Gaza border.
The incident critically injured an Israeli border police officer and a 13-year-old Palestinian boy.
