Israel Launches Air Strikes On Gaza Strip, Targets Hamas Tunnels And Rocket Launching Facilities

Illustration of the impact of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. (Wikimedia Commons/tomer.gabel)

JAKARTA - Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas sites in Gaza in retaliation for incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave that caused fires in southern Israel, the Israeli military (IDF) said Tuesday morning local time.

There were no reports of casualties in the airstrikes targeting weapons production facilities and rocket launch sites, which the Israeli military claims belong to Hamas.

Since an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire halted 11 days of Israeli-Hamas fighting in May, Gaza insurgents have sporadically sent balloons filled with incendiary materials into Israel, leading to Israeli retaliatory attacks on Hamas facilities.

Quoting Reuters on Tuesday, August 24, Palestinians said the balloons were aimed at pressuring Israel to relax restrictions on Gaza and allow aid to reach the territory. The balloon launched Monday sparked fires in Israeli fields along the Gaza border, the Israel Fire and Rescue Service said.

Cross-border violence has escalated despite Israel's announcement last week of the resumption of Qatari aid to Gaza, a move seen as strengthening a fragile ceasefire.

While launching The Jerusalem Post, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed air strikes in the Gaza Strip from Monday night to Tuesday morning.

IDF fighter jets have attacked a weapons production site in Khan Younis, a tunnel in Jabaliya and a rocket launch platform in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, which is located in a civilian area near a school.

"The attack was in response to the shooting of incendiary balloons, which proves once again that the Hamas organization continues to lead and make Gaza a terrorist state," the IDF said.

Gaza's air defenses responded to the air strikes with heavy machine gun fire, according to the KAN radio office. In response to machine gun fire from Gaza that was heard in Israel, the IDF carried out additional attacks on the Hamas-owned tunnel in Khan Younis.

The IDF stressed that it will continue to respond strongly to further attempts to attack terrorism, holding Hamas responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip.

"The bombing of the occupation in the Gaza Strip shows its confusion and failure regarding the steadfastness and stability of the Palestinian people. We will continue our resistance, the bombing will only increase our determination and persistence to take our rights," said Hamas official Ismail Radwan.