Israel carries out overnight air strikes on Gaza

Gaza: The Israeli military carried out air raids on the Gaza Strip overnight on Monday, causing damage to property, Palestinian media reported.

According to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a site in Beit Lahiya in the northern strip. No casualties were reported.

In a statement, the Israeli army said it had carried out air strikes against Hamas positions in response to a rocket being fired into Ashkelon in southern Israel.

Fighter jets and helicopter gunships then raided “terrorist targets at Hamas military camps” on the Gaza Strip, the statement said.

“Earlier today, an explosive device attached to multiple balloons was launched on a model plane from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory,” the statement said.

A Hamas security source said one attack occurred east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and hit an observation point for Hamas’s armed wing, while the second was east of Gaza City.

The security source said no injuries had been reported.

The Gaza frontier has been relatively calm in recent weeks after a deal in which Israel allowed Qatar to provide millions of dollars in aid for fuel and salaries in the blockaded enclave.

Since March 2018, Palestinian protesters have been demonstrating every Friday east of the strip near the Israeli border fence, calling for their right to return to their former homes now inside Israel.

At least 240 Palestinians have been killed since the demonstrations began, most by Israeli fire during border clashes but also by air and tank attacks.

Courtesy | Al Jazeera