Israel shells Hamas posts in Gaza in response to bombs: army

Gaza City: Israeli tanks shelled Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip today after Palestinians set off bombs along the border fence, the military said, with no casualties reported. A security source from Hamas, the Islamist movement which runs the Gaza Strip, said that one round hit an observation post near the border, causing damage but no casualties.

He said that earlier, shortly after sunrise, there were four explosions along the border, which slightly damaged the Israeli frontier barrier. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. An Israeli military statement said: “A number of explosive devices were detonated on the security fence along the northern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported.

“Tanks targeted posts belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in response,” it added. On February 17, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device on the border, sparking intense military retaliation.

Israel warplanes attacked 18 “terror targets belonging to Hamas” in Gaza in response to the blast, which severely wounded two of the soldiers, and a subsequent Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel. The following day, troops shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near the border, Gaza medical sources said.

The Israeli army said at the time that soldiers fired “warning shots” at a number of Palestinians approaching the border fence “in a suspicious manner” but could not confirm Palestinian casualties.