The Israeli army on Friday carried out raids on military monitoring posts belonging to Hamas in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons fired from the coastal enclave into Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
The Israeli army said in a brief statement that “a drone raided two military points belonging to the Hamas movement, and a tank bombed another Hamas military point.”
No casualties have been reported in the raids so far.
The Israeli raids came following a group of masked Palestinian men, dubbed “Al-Nasser Grandsons,” launched fire balloons from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, setting a small piece of forest land in southern Israel on fire.
Palestinians launched incendiary balloons from Gaza in September 2021 last time, when Israel had previously responded to fire balloons with air strikes on the coastal enclave, according to Palestinian and Israeli media.
Earlier on Friday, clashes between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli army erupted along the eastern border that separates Gaza from Israeli cities, Palestinian sources said.
At least 28 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces during the clashes, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a statement.
Palestinian security sources said that local protesters hurled stones toward Israeli forces, who responded by firing live bullets and tear gas.
Over the past two weeks, the eastern fence of Gaza has been witnessing violence between local Palestinians and the Israeli army.
