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Israel strikes in Gaza after rocket attack
JERUSALEM, Sept 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Israeli forces attacked Hamas
positions in Gaza after rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave hit the
Jewish state, the military said early Saturday.
The exchange came hours after two Palestinian teenagers were killed by
Israeli fire during clashes on the Gaza border.
Late Friday, “five projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip towards
Israel,” the army said.
The projectiles hit open fields in southern Israel, army spokesman told
AFP.
In response, an “aircraft and tank struck a number of Hamas military
targets in the northern Gaza Strip, including a post and military positions,”
the army said in a statement.
A Hamas security source said there were no casualties resulting from the
Israeli strikes.
During border clashes on Friday, two Palestinians aged 14 and 17 were shot
dead by Israeli forces, the Gaza health ministry said, with another 46
Palestinians wounded.
The Israeli army said thousands of Palestinians took part in “especially
violent” demonstrations along the border fence, which included throwing “fire
bombs and explosive devices” at soldiers.
Palestinians have been holding regular mass protests along the fortified
border since March 2018.
The protesters have called on Israel to end its crippling siege of the
coastal enclave and demanded the right to return to lands their families fled
during the war that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948.
Israel says any such return would mean its end as a Jewish state and
accuses Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as cover for
attacks.
At least 308 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since
the protests began, the majority during the demonstrations.
The protests have calmed in recent months.
Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1255 hrs