Israel attacks Hamas in Gaza for the continuous launching of explosive balloons

This morning the Israeli army attacked the targets of the Hamas Islamist movement in the blockaded Gaza owing to the incessant launching of explosive balloons which has heightened tension in the area for the past three weeks.

"Fighter planes, tanks and army planes attacked military posts and an underground infrastructure belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation in the south of the Gaza Strip," he said in a military statement.

The night of Saturday to Sunday was the first night that Israel did not respond to the launching of explosive balloons from the enclave and in spite of the failed launching of a rocket by Palestinian militiamen, after eleven consecutive days of bombings on the coastal enclave.

On Sunday the Israeli authorities further restricted the entry of goods through the only commercial crossing in the Kerem Shalom strip, and prohibited all entry of goods except food and medicines.

The daily launching of balloons with explosives is causing hundreds of fires in neighbouring Israeli communities and, in addition, so far this month the Palestinians have fired 17 projectiles towards Israel.

An average Egyptian delegation to contain the upsurge in tension. According to analysts, Hamas is allowing the clashes as a measure of pressure on Israel to ease the conditions of the blockade of the strip it has been imposing since 2007.

No militia has claimed responsibility for the launching of balloons, but Israel holds Hamas, which de facto governs the enclave, responsible for any incident emanating from Gaza.