Palestinian women take part in a protest to mark 52nd anniversary of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, on the Gaza-Israel border in east of southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Aug. 21, 2021. Dozens of Palestinian protesters were injured on Saturday in clashes with Israeli soldiers near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel, Palestinian medics said.(Photo: Xinhua)

Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave that caused brush fires in southern Israel, its military said early on Tuesday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the air strikes that targeted what the military said was a weapons production facility and a rocket launch site belonging to Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza.

Since an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire halted 11 days of Israel-Hamas fighting in May, Gaza militants have sent balloons laden with incendiary material into Israel, drawing Israeli strikes on Hamas facilities.

Palestinians say the balloons aim to pressure Israel to ease restrictions on Gaza and permit aid to reach the territory. Balloons launched Monday set off fires in Israeli fields along the Gaza border, Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said.

Cross-border violence has spiked despite an Israeli announcement last week of a resumption of Qatari aid to Gaza, a move that had been seen as bolstering the fragile truce.

Confronting Gaza protesters burning tires and throwing explosives along the border on Saturday, Israeli troops shot and wounded 41 Palestinians, critically injuring two, medics said. Palestinian gunfire seriously wounded an Israeli soldier, the military said.

Days before Saturday's violence, Gaza militants launched a rocket toward Israel that was shot down by its Iron Dome anti-missile system, in the first such rocket attack since the May 21 cease-fire.

More than 250 Palestinians and 13 in Israel were killed in the May conflict, during which Gaza militants fired rockets toward Israeli cities and Israel carried out air strikes across the coastal enclave.

Reuters