Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza after cross-border fire targets soldiers

No reports of injury or damages in the incident

Shots were fired from the Gaza strip at soldiers securing civilian maintenance work near the border fence on Monday morning, the military said. The IDF responded shortly afterward with tank fire targeting Hamas positions located, according to Palestinian media, south of al-Bureij refugee camp

There were no reports of injury or damage in the incident, but according to Channel 10 news, farmers in the area were advised by the army to stop working temporarily in the fields and to remain in their homes.

Earlier this month, two Palestinian men were arrested after crossing into Israel from the Strip, one of whom was armed with a knife and a grenade. In November, the IDF fired warning shots to disperse Palestinians trying to breach the border and in October four rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel, resulting in air force strikes against Hamas targets.

Israel holds the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the Strip, responsible for any violence toward Israel.

The cross-border incident comes days after a Hamas terrorist was assassinated in Tunisia. According to Hamas’s armed wing, the Kassam Brigades, Muhammed Zawari, who had been a member of the group for 10 years and supervised its drone program, was gunned down in his car near his home close to the Tunisian city of Sfax on Thursday.

Hamas blames the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, for his assassination and has warned that, “The enemy must know the blood of the leader Zawari will not go in vain.”

There was no official indication, however, that the two events were related and Tunisian authorities have said that eight Tunisian nationals have been arrested as suspects in the killing.