Wed 16 June 2021:
Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes early Wednesday on positions in the Gaza Strip belonging to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it targeted Hamas compounds, including in the al-Yarmouk area east of Khan Younis city.
It also bombed a position in the Zeitoun neighborhood.
The raids, the military said, came in response to the launching of the balloons, which caused 20 blazes in open fields in communities near Gaza.
A Hamas spokesman, confirming the Israeli attacks, told Reuters news agency that Palestinians would continue to pursue their “brave resistance and defend their rights and sacred sites” in Jerusalem.
Israel’s Army Radio reported that Israel informed Egyptian mediators that direct Hamas involvement in the fire balloon launch would imperil long-term truce talks.
Gaza tonight pic.twitter.com/2iwp09R1js
— Muhammad Smiry (@MuhammadSmiry) June 15, 2021
he Israeli raids come two days after a new coalition government, headed by right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett, took power on Sunday, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister.
In another anti-Palestinian chant, Israeli demonstrators shouted: “May your village burn.”
In a scathing condemnation on Twitter, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said those shouting racist slogans were “a disgrace to the Israeli people”, adding: “The fact that there are radicals for whom the Israeli flag represents hatred and racism is abominable and unforgivable.”
In May, Israeli air raids in Gaza killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, while rockets launched by Palestinian groups killed at least 12 people, including two children. The escalation ended after 11 days with an internationally brokered ceasefire.
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
