Moscow (Russia): The Israeli army struck facilities of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip after several arson balloons had been launched from the Palestinian enclave, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday. "In response to continual launches of arson balloons from Gaza into Israel today, we just struck a Hamas military compound and rocket-launching site. The site was in a civilian area, once again emphasizing how Hamas endangers Palestinian civilians," the IDF wrote on its Twitter page.
The IDF vowed to respond firmly against any terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip. Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni militant organization in control of the Gaza Strip, has been locked in a protracted on-and-off conflict with Israel, which still refuses to recognise Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity. Israel holds Hamas responsible for any attack coming from the Gaza Strip.