Israel strikes Hamas military targets in Gaza

Israeli forces attacked Hamas positions in Gaza after rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave hit the Jewish state, the military said early on Saturday.

The exchange came hours after two Palestinian teenagers were killed by Israeli fire during clashes on the Gaza border.

Late Friday, “five projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel,” the army said.

A Palestinian protester yells at an Israeli soldier as he confronts him atop an Israeli army vehicle.

The projectiles hit open fields in southern Israel, army spokesman told AFP.

In response, an “aircraft and tank struck a number of Hamas military targets in the northern Gaza Strip, including a post and military positions,” the army said in a statement.

A Hamas security source said there were no casualties resulting from the Israeli strikes.

During border clashes on Friday, two Palestinians aged 14 and 17 were shot dead by Israeli forces, the Gaza health ministry said, with another 46 Palestinians wounded.

The father of a Palestinian who was killed during clashes reacts at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Friday.

The Israeli army said thousands of Palestinians took part in demonstrations along the border fence, which included throwing “fire bombs and explosive devices” at soldiers.

Palestinians have been holding regular mass protests along the fortified border since March 2018.

The protesters have called on Israel to end its crippling siege of the coastal enclave and demanded the right to return to lands their families fled during the war that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948.

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl a stone at Israeli forces during clashes on Friday.

Israel says any such return would mean its end as a Jewish state and accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of using the protests as cover for attacks.

At least 308 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the protests began, the majority during the demonstrations.

The protests have calmed in recent months.

Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

Agence France-Presse