Tel Aviv launches new round of attacks on Gaza Strip

Palestinian media reported that an Israeli tank shelled an outpost purportedly belonging to the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement north of Beit Hanoun and a regime drone struck a Hamas observation post near Beit Lahia early on Saturday.

There were no immediate reports about possible casualties and the extent of damage caused.

The Israeli military confirmed the attack and said it was in response to five rockets allegedly fired by Hamas into the occupied territories on Friday night, setting off sirens in Israeli settlements along the Gaza border as well as the city of Sderot.

It added that no casualties were caused by the rockets, one of which landed in an open field outside Sderot.

The Israeli military frequently bombs the Gaza Strip, with civilians being the main target of such attacks.

The rockets fired hours after Israeli troops killed two Palestinians, Ali al-Ashqar, 17, who was shot in the head east of Jabalya, while 14-year-old Khaled Abu Bakr al-Rubaie was shot dead east of Gaza City.

Israeli forces also wounded at least 66 other Palestinian protesters, 38 from gunfire, in demonstrations along the border.

Palestinians have held weekly rallies in the area since last year to protest the siege on the enclave and stress the right to return of the refugees who have fled Israeli aggression since 1948.

At least 307 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces ever since the anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30, 2018. Over 18,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, which has caused a decline in living standards.

Israel has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.