Israel bombs Gaza Strip weapons sites
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in response to a violent demonstration on the perimeter fence that left an Israeli police officer critically injured and at least 24 Palestinians dead, the army said.
Saturday’s violence broke out after hundreds of Palestinians took part in a demonstration organized by Gaza’s Hamas rulers to draw attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory. The demonstration grew violent after dozens of people approached the fortified border fence and threw rocks and explosives toward Israeli soldiers from behind a black smoke screen billowing from burning tires.
The army said in a statement that in response to the violent demonstrations, fighter planes hit “four weapons and storage manufacturing sites” belonging to Hamas, and that the military deployed additional troops to the region near the border with the Palestinian enclave. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the airstrikes.
Addressing the Cabinet on Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel “will settle the score with those who harm our soldiers and Israeli civilians,” adding that the military is “ready for any scenario.”
Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies that have fought onand-off since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in a 2007 coup, a year after winning a Palestinian election.