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Israel strikes Gaza after incendiary balloon launch

WION Web Team
Gaza City Updated: Jul 02, 2021, 03:22 PM IST
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Explosions light-up the night sky above buildings in Gaza City as Israeli forces shell the Palestinian enclave, early on June 16, 2021. Photograph:(AFP)

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A statement from Israel's army said: "In response to the arson balloons fired towards Israeli territory today, (military) fighter jets struck... a weapons manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas terror organisation."

Israel hit Islamist militant sites in Gaza with airstrikes on Friday, July 2. This comes in retaliation for incendiary balloon launches from the Palestinian enclave.

There were no injuries reported. 

A statement from Israel's army said: "In response to the arson balloons fired towards Israeli territory today, (military) fighter jets struck... a weapons manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas terror organisation."

Eleven days of deadly fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers, as well as other Palestinian armed groups based in the enclave, ended on May 21 with a ceasefire declaration. There was no immediate indication as to which Gaza-based group was responsible for the balloon launch. 

The conflict has killed 260 Palestinians including some fighters, according to Gaza authorities. In Israel, 13 people were killed, including a soldier, by rockets fired from Gaza, the police and army said.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007. This is the year Hamas took power, which the Jewish state says is necessary to contain armed groups in the enclave.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing conflict, the gap between truth and falsehoods is growing wider by the day. A lot of credit for this goes to social media where misinformation is flourishing with fake videos and images going viral.