Israel’s army said it had launched airstrikes targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, following border clashes that saw a Palestinian teenager shot dead and many injured.
The health ministry in Gaza Strip said 220 Palestinians were injured in Friday’s protests on the Gaza border in addition to 15-year-old Othman Rami Halles who was shot dead, AFP reported.
Reportedly, Israeli fighter jets struck two Hamas targets, one in southern Gaza and one in the north as well as other infrastructure across the coastal territory, Israel’s military said in statements posted on Twitter. According to witnesses in Gaza, there were no casualties from the air strikes.
During the strikes, militants in Gaza fired a total of 31 mortar rounds at Israel, the army said, adding that six were intercepted by its Iron Dome air defense system.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the group was responsible for the mortar fire on Israel and that they were carried out “in response to the Israeli airstrikes.”
“The protection and the defense of our people is a national duty and a strategic choice,” Barhoum said.
Palestinians in Gaza have for months been demonstrating against Israel’s decade-long blockade of the territory and in support of their right to return to lands they were driven from during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.
Since the protests and clashes broke out along the border on March 30, at least 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.
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