BELLIGERENT Israeli Knesset member Bezalel Smotrich (center) waves an Israeli flag together with other Jewish ultranationalists during the ‘Flags March’ next to Damascus gate, outside Jerusalem’s Old City on June 15, 2021. AP PHOTO
JERUSALEM: The Israeli air force launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip early Wednesday after militants in the Palestinian territory sent incendiary balloons into southern Israel, security sources and witnesses said.
The airstrikes and balloons marked the first major flare-up between Israel and Gaza since a ceasefire on May 21 ended 11 days of heavy fighting that killed 260 Palestinians, according to Gaza authorities, and 13 people in Israel, the police and army there said.