GAZA CITY: Israel’s military ren­e­wed air strikes targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon, following border clashes in which two Palestinians including a teenager were killed and hundreds injured.

The army said it was “currently striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip”, without giving further details, following an assault on the territory earlier in the day.

According to Palestinian security sources and witnesses, fighter jets struck Hamas targets without causing any injuries.

The Israeli bombardment came as rockets and mortars were lobbed into southern Israel from the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Sirens warning Israeli residents to take shelter rang out in all areas bordering Gaza, the army wrote on Twitter.

The escalation followed further protests on the Gaza border on Friday, in which two Palestinians were killed and more than 220 injured according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip.

A 15-year-old Palestinian was shot dead during the demonstrations and a 20-year-old died on Saturday of gunshot wounds sustained during the protest, the health ministry said.

The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was injured by a grenade.

Gaza tunnels hit

Early on Saturday the Israeli military said it conducted strikes against Hamas “in response to the terror acts instigated during the violent riots that took place along the security fence” on Friday.

It also cited “continuous arson attacks damaging Israeli territory on a daily basis with the launching of arson balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory”.

In the morning raids Israeli fighter jets struck two “Hamas terror tunn­els”, one in southern Gaza and another in the north, as well as other infrastructure across the coastal territory.

It said targets included “complexes used to prepare arson terror attacks and a Hamas terror training facility”.

During the morning strikes, militants in Gaza fired a total of 31 mortar rounds at Israel, the military said, adding that six were intercepted by its Iron Dome air defence system.

Israeli media reports said no one was injured in those attacks.

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 air strikes”.

“The protection and the defence of our people is a national duty and a strategic choice,” Barhoum said.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2018