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News > Palestine

Israeli Air Raids Target Gaza for 3rd Time Since May Ceasefire

  • New Israeli air raids targeted Gaza for the third time since the May ceasefire. No casualties were reported in the attack that Israel has said was in response to the launching of ‘incendiary balloons’ from Gaza.

    New Israeli air raids targeted Gaza for the third time since the May ceasefire. No casualties were reported in the attack that Israel has said was in response to the launching of ‘incendiary balloons’ from Gaza. | Photo: Twitter/@MV_Eng

Published 2 July 2021
Opinion

Israel announced its fighter jets targeted an alleged weapons manufacturing site in the Gaza Strip overnight on Friday in the latest aggression since a ceasefire ended the attacks May.

Hamas security sources said the raids targeted training sites yet no casualties were reported.

The Israeli army spokesperson claims the air raid responded to the launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip towards surrounding Israeli settlements.

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Israel's statement said: “In response to the arson balloons fired towards Israeli territory today, [military] fighter jets struck … a weapons manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas terror organisation."

Israel is holding Hamas responsible even though was no immediate indication as to which Gaza-based group was responsible for the balloon launch.

This constitutes the third time Israel has carried out air attacks in Gaza since the end of the 11-day offensive it launched in the blockaded territory this May, which killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, according to Gaza authorities.

Egypt along with other international mediators have been trying to guarantee the informal ceasefire that ended the most recent outbreak.

This week, Israel has eased restrictions to allow in Qatar-funded oil and also extended Gaza’s fishing zone while permitted increased cross-border trade.

Yet multiple flare-ups have occurred since the ceasefire, including some balloon launches last month, to which Israel has responded with air strikes.

Following an exchange of fire on June 18, Israel's army chief commanded forces to be ready “for a variety of scenarios including a resumption of hostilities."

The Gaza Strip has faced an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007, after Hamas – democratically elected the year before – took power of the coastal enclave.

Over two million people – half of them under 18 – live in the territory, one of the world’s most densely populated area living in dire humanitarian conditions.

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