Airstrike hits Gaza after bomb finds

JERUSALEM: Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip yesterday in response to two explosive devices found near Israel’s border with the territory, the military said, amid a flare-up in deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence.

No injuries were reported in the strike, but it comes amid a wave of mass protests by Palestinians along Israel’s border with Gaza that have drawn Israeli fire.

Also yesterday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said a 45-year-old Palestinian man died of his wounds after being shot in the legs by Israeli troops during a protest late last month.

The man’s death brings to 32 the number of people killed by Israeli fire since March 30.

Thousands of Palestinians have protested along the Gaza-Israel border as part of a series of demonstrations called by the Islamic militant Hamas group that rules Gaza.

Israel says the protests are a smoke screen for attacks on its troops and attempts to breach the border fence and that its snipers have only fired at “instigators” trying to carry out attacks.

The military said it struck a Hamas “terror target” in a military compound in Gaza early yesterday. On Sunday, the military said two bombs were found near Israel’s border with Gaza, hours after three Palestinians crossed briefly into Israel.