Israeli war plans led to more airstrikes on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip early Monday, according to the Israeli army.
The Israeli army has been carrying out attacks on Gaza since August 6, along with a ceasefire blockade that prohibited the entry of fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant, deepening Palestinian territory in the dark.
Monday’s attacks targeted a Hamas tunnel and some military points, the Israeli army said in a statement, and were carried out in retaliation for the launch of incendiary balloons from Gaza blaming Israel on Hamas, the group that the Gaza region rules.
So far no casualties have been reported.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli war plans targeted an area east of the city of al-Qarara, in the southern city of Khan Younis, with at least three missiles, leaving a deep crater.
In addition, Israeli artillery struck a site east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, leading to destruction and fire.
An Egyptian delegation sought to mediate a return to an informal ceasefire.
The Gaza Strip has a population of two million people, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Palestinian territory has been under a devastating Israeli blockade since 2007.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.
The latest Israeli attacks came just before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Tel Aviv, the first stop in a five-day trip to the Middle East.
His visit will focus on the normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel by the United Arab Emirates, seen as a betrayal by many Palestinians, and urges other Arab states to follow suit.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
