Wed 19 August 2020:
Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip overnight after militants fired a rocket into southern Israel, the army said.
The latest exchange came as Israel warned Hamas it was risking “war” by failing to stop fire balloons being launched across the border.
Egyptian security officials shuttled between the two sides in a bid to end the flare-up which has seen more than a week of rocket and fire balloon attacks from Gaza and nightly Israeli reprisals.
“Earlier tonight, a rocket was fired and during the day, explosive and arson balloons were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory,” said a military statement released shortly before midnight (2100 GMT).
In response, “fighter jets and (other) aircraft struck additional Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip.
“During the strike, a military compound belonging to one of the special arrays of the Hamas terror organization was struck,” the English language statement added.
There were no reports from Gaza of casualties.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin issued a warning to Hamas during a visit to firefighters in the border area who said they were called out to 40 blazes caused by Palestinian arson balloons on Tuesday.
“Hamas should know that this is not a game. The time will come when they have to decide… If they want war, they will get war,” said Rivlin.
A Hamas source told AFP the movement’s officials had held talks with the Egyptian delegation in Gaza on Monday before it left the territory for meetings with the Israelis and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
The Egyptian delegation was expected to return to Gaza after those talks were concluded, the source added.
In response to the persistent balloon attacks, Israel has banned fishing off Gaza’s coast and closed the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, cutting off deliveries of fuel to the territory’s sole power plant.
Despite a truce last year – backed by Egypt, Qatar and the UN – tensions between Hamas and Israel rise sporadically.
The only power plant in Gaza is scheduled to shut down due to the crossing’s closure, which has cut fuel supplies, exacerbated the power crisis and left Gaza’s two million residents with about four hours of electricity a day.
