Israeli airstrikes struck militant sites in the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the third straight day, the Israeli military said, after Palestinians near the border fence launched incendiary balloons into Israel and threw an explosive at soldiers.
There were no reported casualties from the strikes. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military shot and wounded five Palestinians who were rallying at the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with the crowded enclave.
The Israeli army said Sunday it had targeted two posts belonging to Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, just east of the Bureij refugee camp and Jabaliya. The posts were close to the fence separating the territory from Israel, where dozens of Palestinians have been holding daily demonstrations for the past week.
On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes hit a militant site for the second time in two days, after Palestinians sent incendiary balloons into Israeli farmland and Palestinian protesters threw stones and explosives at soldiers at the separation fence
The spike in violence comes during the Jewish New Year holiday season. Jews are set to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day on their calendar, on Sunday night followed by the weeklong Sukkot festival later in the month.
For the third time in as many days, media outlets posted photos of protesters sending a barrage of balloons attached to incendiary devices over the eastern border. The Israeli army said the balloons set two fires in Israel.
