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Israeli fighter jets attacked targets in the south of the Gaza Strip, the army in Tel Aviv announced early this morning.
The Israeli army stated that it was a response to flammable balloons released across the border, which caused at least three fires in Israel.
A Hamas military base near civilian areas where the school is located was hit, the statement said, but other details were not disclosed.
There were no immediate reports of possible casualties, the Associated Press reported.
Palestinian sources stated that the planes bombed targets west of Gaza City, and then east of Khan Yunis, Israeli media reported.
Palestinian media state that Israeli planes were fired from automatic weapons in the middle of an air strike, and that one drone was shot down.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of such reports, warning that it would “respond aggressively to the continuation of terrorist attempts from the Gaza Strip.”
Hours before the air strike, activists linked to the extremist Islamic Hamas, which rules in Gaza, sent balloons with flammable material.
The photos and videos posted on social networks show the balloons being released and the message “Time is running out” written on one of them.
The balloons caused fires two months after the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim said of the Israeli strikes late last night that they were “failed attempts to improve the damaged image” during the recent conflict between the two sides.
The Islamic organization claims that Israel has not done enough to ease the paralyzing blockade of the Gaza Strip since the end of the conflict, and is dissatisfied that indirect negotiations with the Israeli side on the renewal of Qatar’s financial aid to the Palestinians in Gaza are being postponed.
Israeli media reported that at least three fires were caused in the south of Israel, after three weeks of calm.
Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, compared the release of the balloon to rocket fire from Gaza and ordered air strikes even earlier when that happened.
The Israeli administration in charge of Palestinian civil affairs immediately announced on Sunday that it would halve the zone in which fishing is allowed in the Gaza Strip, from 19.3 to 9.6 kilometers.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the Jewish state in its charter, forcibly took control of the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean coast, defeating forces loyal to the more moderate Fatah.
Video of one of the IDF strikes near Khan Younis, southern Gaza this evening. pic.twitter.com/x9bpDETVuO
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 25, 2021
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