The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of retaliatory airstrikes in southern Gaza late Monday night after incendiary balloons from the Hamas-run enclave sparked three fires near Israeli towns bordering the Strip.
The military said it hit a Hamas rocket production facility and training camp in Khan Younis. Footage uploaded to social media showed the strikes lighting up the skies. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Earlier Monday, incendiary balloons launched from the Strip sparked three fires in Israel’s Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. Firefighters managed to put out the fires before they could cause significant damage.
Gazans have continued to launch incendiary devices attached to kites or balloons into Israel despite warnings from Jerusalem of zero tolerance for such attacks.
Tensions with Gaza have remained high amid intensified efforts to shore up a ceasefire brokered after May’s war between Israel and Gaza-based terrorists, including a new arrangement for bringing Qatari cash into the Strip to ease poverty there.
The IDF’s Southern Command was preparing on Monday for the possibility that ceasefire talks managed by Cairo could break down, leading to an upsurge in violence and renewed rioting on the border.
Over the weekend, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou warned in a statement that, “Our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are determined to extract all their demands and break the siege on the Gaza Strip and no longer accept the gradual easing [of restrictions].”
He added that “our people’s options are open and all tools and means are available to pressure the occupation and oblige it to lift the siege on our people.”
Over the weekend, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou warned in a statement that, “Our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are determined to extract all their demands and break the siege on the Gaza Strip and no longer accept the gradual easing [of restrictions].”
He added that “our people’s options are open and all tools and means are available to pressure the occupation and oblige it to lift the siege on our people.”
No comments:
Post a Comment