Israel targets Hamas in Gaza after ‘balloon bombs’ launched

Demonstrators run during a protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip April 19, 2019. (File/Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

• The military says it hit the sites in northern Gaza Strip early on Thursday
• Israel previously scaled back the permitted fishing zone off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast following a rocket attack

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military says it struck several Hamas militant sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip.
The military says it hit the sites in northern Gaza Strip early on Thursday. It says that afterward, two rockets were fired out of Gaza. There were no injuries on either side.
The brief flareup marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.
Israel previously scaled back the permitted fishing zone off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast following a rocket attack.
Israel says it holds Gaza’s Hamas rulers responsible for all attacks from the coastal territory. The sides have engaged in several rounds of cross-border fighting over the past year.