The Israeli army announced this morning, Sunday, that its aircraft targeted a military site and a tunnel belonging to Hamas in response to the launch of incendiary balloons and acts of unrest at the border barrier. The Israeli army stated in a tweet, "Hamas uses these methods to intimidate Israeli civilians, and we will protect them."
On Saturday evening, five Palestinians were reported injured by Israeli gunfire, and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation east of Gaza City, where around 300 Palestinian protesters gathered near the security fence, setting rubber tires on fire and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with live and rubber bullets and tear gas.
For its part, the joint operations room of the incendiary and explosive balloon units and the nighttime disruption units in the Gaza Strip announced a decision to gradually escalate its popular activities along the border. In a statement, it mentioned that it "will begin tomorrow to return to a gradual escalation by launching incendiary and explosive balloons towards Israeli lands and towns in protest against the siege imposed on Gaza and the closure of crossings."
Additionally, sources in the Israeli police confirmed to a Sputnik reporter that "two fires broke out in the Eshkol region due to incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip last night."
