Attacks on Gaza continued for the seventh straight night, when Israeli war plans targeted Hamas observatories on what the Israeli army said was a response to Palestinian fire balloon attacks across the border.
Tuesday’s airstrikes came as visiting Egyptian security officials struggled to exploit the latest uptick in violence.
“Fighter jets and [other] a plane hit underground infrastructures belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, “said an Israeli military statement, linking the attack to” explosive and incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip to Israel. “
Sources and witnesses from Gaza say the raids on Tuesday hit Hamas lookouts at Rafah in the south of the territory and Beit Lahia in the north.
Tensions have been rising for more than a week, with Israel accusing Hamas of firing rockets and launching bundles of balloons across the border equipped with incendiary or explosive devices.
Israel has the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing goods with the Gaza Strip, imposing a ban on fishing off the coast of Gaza and setting up seven nights of night airstrikes.
Palestinian territory has been under crippling Israeli blockade since 2007, with Israel citing Hamas’ security threats to its land, air and naval blockade.
A Hamas source told the AFP news agency that the group held talks with the Egyptian delegation in Gaza on Monday, before the delegation went to meetings with the Israelis and the occupied Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
It was expected that they would return to Gaza after those talks, the source added.
“The occupation continued its aggression and carried out airstrikes on Gaza after midnight,” the Hamas source said, adding that the attacks were seen as a ‘negative reaction’ to the security forces.
There were no casualties in the robberies, he added.
Despite a ceasefire last year – backed by Egypt, Qatar and the UN – tensions between Hamas and Israel are rising sporadically.
Hamas says Israel did not honor previous notions that stated that Israel had imposed the blockade it had imposed on Gaza since taking over Hamas and allowed large-scale projects to save the collapsing economy.
The only energy installation in Gaza is planned to shut down due to the closure of the crossing, which has cut fuel supply, exacerbated the power crisis and left the two million people of Gaza with about four hours of electricity per day.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
