Air strikes hit Gaza after border clashes

Since the protests and clashes broke out along the border on March 30, at least 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. AFP

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Israel’s army said it had launched air strikes targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, following border clashes that saw a Palestinian teenager shot dead and many injured including an Israeli soldier.

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

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip said that 220 Palestinians were injured in Friday’s protests on the Gaza border in addition to 15-year-old Othman Rami Halles who was shot dead.

Israeli fighter jets struck two “Hamas terror tunnels” one in southern Gaza and one in the north as well as other infrastructure across the coastal territory, Israel’s military said in statements posted on Twitter.

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

The army said the strikes were conducted “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.”