Tensions escalate in Gaza
Israeli warplanes have launched fresh overnight airstrikes across the besieged Gaza Strip for the second day in a row. The regime claims it bombed the enclave in response to incendiary balloons allegedly launched from the strip that made their way to Israeli settlements.
There were no casualties in the raids across the Gaza Strip including Gaza City, Khan Younes in the south, and Jabalia in the north. However, the airstrikes did cause material damage in addition to the mental trauma of civilians heading to bed at night to sound of bombs being dropped from warplanes.
A source with the Palestinian resistance says Hamas had fired on the Israeli warplanes.
The movement has also warned that a large-scale conflict with Israel is still “on the table”.
The latest escalation of tension follows weekend clashes between protesters and Israeli troops along the so-called buffer zone in which dozens of Palestinians were injured.
Israel frequently responds to incendiary balloon launches with airstrikes, including after such devices were used on August 6. Despite causing little to zero harm; the launching of the balloons has been met with bombing raids.
They are a common tactic used by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been under a strict Israeli blockade since 2007.
In a statement, the regime claimed it was working to contain some fires in the Eshkol settlement, which it blamed on incendiary balloons launched from Gaza.
Analysts say Israel is bombing Gaza after its humiliating defeat exactly three months ago when Hamas shocked the regime with an unprecedented barrage of rockets and missiles.
Over 11 days in May, Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes in response to rockets fired from the enclave.
Israeli strikes killed 260 Palestinians, many of them women and children, while missiles fired by resistance forces in the besieged territory left 13 Israeli settlers dead.