17 July 2018•Update: 17 July 2018
By Nour Abu Aisha and Hani al-Shaer
GAZA CITY, Palestine
An Israeli warplane on Tuesday targeted a group of Palestinian activists trying to launch incendiary kites and balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israel, according to the Israeli army.
In a statement, a military spokesman said the air attack had targeted Palestinian activists “launching arson balloons toward Israel from the northern Gaza Strip”.
No casualties were reported as a result of Tuesday’s airstrike.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any cease-fire deal struck with Hamas would not apply to the use of incendiary kites or balloons by Palestinian activists.
On Saturday, Israel and Hamas -- the latter of which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 -- reportedly agreed to the terms of an Egyptian cease-fire proposal with a view to easing tensions along the Gaza-Israel security fence.
In recent weeks, Palestinian activists have been flying flaming kites and balloons over Israeli territory as part of ongoing anti-occupation rallies being held along the security fence.
Since Mar. 30, more than 130 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.
Demonstrators are protesting Israel’s decades-long occupation and its 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its 2 million inhabitants of basic commodities.
