IDF attacks Hamas headquarters in response to balloon fires

Palestinian sources at about 00:30 Saturday reported that the IDF had attacked Hamas homeland security headquarters in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip. The IDF has not confirmed.

Palestinian sources at about 00:30 Saturday reported that the IDF had attacked Hamas headquarters in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, and that airplanes were being shot at with machine guns.

The IDF so far is denying the report.

Along with the rockets shot from Lebanon towards Israel’s north on Friday morning, the border with Gaza continues to be tense.

Four fires caused by incendiary balloons broke out in several areas close to the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, HaKeren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) reported.

The head of COGAT, Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, addressed Gaza Strip residents via Facebook in response to the fires.

“Are you really willing to endanger your daily lives for the sake of balloons?” he asked. “Have you not had enough of this endless circle that leads you nowhere? Are these balloons worth more than the shrinking of your fishing zone? Maintaining the quiet and security in the region will better your economy,” he wrote.

After Operation Guardian of the Walls, the IDF has consistently been attacking in response to incendiary balloons that caused brush fires in the Gaza border areas.

The IDF has still been trying to minimize the conflict, and to avoid casualties on either side.

However, since the May operation it has hit quality targets such as a military compound in Han Younes in response to incendiary balloons, where in the past it sometimes would not attack at all in the same scenario.

The previous attack occurred at the end of July.

Of the four fires that broke out Friday, three of the fires ignited in Kissufim forest, and the fourth in Be’eri forest.

A spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue department reported that four firefighting teams were working on the ground alongside KKL-JNF in order to bring the fires under control and prevent them from spreading further

Israel has seen multiple fires break out across the country over the last few days, most notably in and around the Jerusalem area, as the long dry heatwaves caused forest-fires to catch and spread more easily.