Israel strikes Hamas sites in Gaza in response to fire balloons; no casualties reported

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza were conducted on Saturday, August 7, in response to incendiary balloons launched from the area, Israel's military said. No casualties were reported from the strike that targeted what the military said were rocket-launching sites and a Hamas compound in Gaza. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

After an 11-day ceasefire ended on May 21, Palestinians in Gaza have caused fires that have burned fields in Israel after sporadically launching balloons with incendiary material across the border.

In May, Israel tightened restrictions on the coastal enclave, according to Palestinians. Israeli restrictions on Gaza had resulted in a significant decline in balloon launches. Then again on Friday, at least four brush fires broke out near the Israel-Gaza border due to balloons launched from Gaza. After "continuous launches of incendiary balloons from Gaza into Israel throughout the day", Israel's military said it had launched airstrikes.

On the third day of cross-border salvos amid wider regional tensions with Iran, Israel also traded fire with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah over its northern border on Friday. 

Israel-Palestine conflict 2021

Violence broke out in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on May 10, 2021, though disturbances had occurred earlier. The violence continued until a ceasefire was declared on May 21, 2021. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched rockets at Israel, and Israel launched airstrikes against the Gaza Strip. Israeli Supreme Court decision to evict six Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah sparked the crisis on 6 May. In accordance with international law, Sheikh Jarrah is an occupied Palestinian territory. Israeli law is applied there. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli police on 7 May, according to Israel's Channel 12, who stormed the mosque compound with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades. 

While the ceasefire came at the last moment, 248 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children, and 12 Israelis in recent fighting. There was also extensive damage in Gaza as a result of Israeli airstrikes