Israeli warplanes strike Hamas targets in Gaza

Gaza, Aug 28 (IANS) Israeli warplanes on Friday struck military facilities of the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza in response to the firing of six projectiles into southern Israel.

Hamas security sources told Xinhua news agency that the Israeli warplanes targeted a training facility that belonged to al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, south of Gaza city, with no injury or damage reported.

Meanwhile, an Israeli army spokesman also confirmed the strikes on the facility and held Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, fully responsible for the projectiles' attack.

Israeli Radio reported that the projectiles landed on unpopulated areas in southern Israel, causing no injury or damage.

No one claimed responsibility for firing the projectiles from Gaza into southern Israel.

A tit-for-tat escalation of tension has been going on in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Gaza militants since August 6.

Tension was started when unknown masked young men launched hundreds of incendiary balloons into Israel.

In response, Israeli army warplanes and artillery have been attacking posts, sites, and military infrastructure of Hamas.

Egyptian and Qatari mediation had so far failed to defuse the growing tension, where Hamas leaders insist that their condition to restore calm in Gaza is to lift an Israeli blockade that had been imposed on the Gaza Strip for 13 years.

Fawzi Barhoum, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement that launching projectiles and arson balloons "is a direct response to the Israeli occupation's escalation against the Palestinians".

"The Israeli occupation is fully responsible for the consequences of its escalation on the Gaza Strip, mainly keeping the siege imposed and attacking military posts and facilities amid the spread of coronavirus in Gaza," he said.