JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Sunday in response to a violent demonstration on the perimeter fence that left an Israeli police officer injured, the army.
Saturday’s violence erupted after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a rally organized by Hamas rulers in Gaza to draw attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the territory. The demonstration turned violent after dozens of people approached the fortified border fence and threw rocks and explosives at Israeli soldiers behind a screen of black smoke gushing from burnt tires.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 24 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy, were wounded by Israeli gunfire. An Israeli Border Police officer was shot and critically injured.
The military said in a statement that in response to the violent protests, fighter jets hit “four weapons manufacturing and storage sites” belonging to Hamas rulers in Gaza, and that the military deployed additional troops. in the region near the border with the Palestinian enclave. No injuries were reported immediately in the airstrikes.
Speaking to the cabinet on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel “will resolve the outcome with those who harm our Israeli soldiers and civilians,” adding that the military is “ready for any scenario.”
Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies that have waged four wars and countless skirmishes since the Islamic militant group took control of Gaza in a 2007 coup, a year after winning the Palestinian elections.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, the most recent round of fighting in May, an 11-day war that fought to an inconclusive ceasefire, killed at least 254 people in Gaza, including 67 children and 39 women. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with a soldier.