Israeli tanks opened fire on Hamas positions in the Gaza strip overnight in response to continued waves of incendiary balloons across the border, said the Israeli Military.
Tensions have risen in recent days as groups affiliated with Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers have launched incendiary balloons across the frontier, igniting farmland inside Israel.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. The military said it struck a concrete manufacturing site used for underground infrastructure and tunnel construction, belonging to the Hamas terror organization.
The continuing cross-border violence came despite the attempts of Egyptian security to end the flare-up, which has seen two weeks of rocket and fire balloon attacks from Gaza and almost nightly Israeli reprisals.
“Explosive and arson balloons were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel,” the Israeli army said.
“In response… tanks targeted military posts belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, have fought three wars since 2008.
In response to the waves of balloons, Israel has banned fishing off Gaza’s coast and closed the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, cutting off deliveries of fuel to the territory’s sole power plant.
Power had already been in short supply even before the shutdown, with consumers having access to electricity for only about eight hours a day.
That will now be cut to just four hours a day using power supplied from the Israeli grid.
