Israel strikes Hamas positions in Gaza over fire balloons
The Israeli military said Wednesday it completed overnight strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after
incendiary balloons were launched over the border from the Palestinian enclave.
The army said the strikes were “retaliation” for the launching of multiple balloons from the Hamas-run enclave in recent days.
Jets, attack helicopters and tanks struck numerous Hamas targets including “underground infrastructure and observation posts,” a statement said.
Fire services in southern Israel said the balloons caused 60 fires on Tuesday alone but reported no casualties. Explosives tied to balloons and kites first emerged as a weapon in Gaza during strong protests in 2018, when the makeshift devices drifted over the border daily, causing thousands of fires in Israeli farms and communities.
Israel has closed its Kerem Shalom goods crossing with the Gaza Strip in response to the recent balloon launches. Hamas denounced the closure as an “aggressive” move that showed Israel’s “insistence on laying siege” to Gaza, and warned it could cause further worsening of the humanitarian situation in the territory.
As the Kerem Shalom crossing closed, the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened Tuesday for the first time since April.
Traffic in both directions was to be permitted for three days, allowing Gazans to leave the enclave for the very first time since the start of the pandemic.
The Rafah crossing provides Gaza’s sole usage of the exterior world not manipulated by Israel. The Palestinian territory has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
Despite a truce this past year, backed by the UN, Egypt and Qatar, both sides clash sporadically with rockets, mortar fire or incendiary balloons.
Palestinian analysts say cross-border fire from Gaza is often used as a bargaining tool to secure Israel’s green light for the entry of Qatari school funding into the territory.
