Hamas Initiates Air Defense Fire After Intense, Diverse Israeli Attacks

Tuesday, 24 August 2021 1:43 AM  

Press TV

Israeli warplanes bomb an area in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of August 24, 2021. (Via Twitter)

Hamas engages its air defenses in response to intense airstrikes launched by the Israeli regime against several areas across the Gaza Strip, where he Palestinian resistance movement is headquartered.

The aerial assaults began taking on diverse targets throughout the territory early Tuesday, Palestinian media outlets reported.

The southern city of Khan Yunis reportedly took the brunt of the aggression that was the second of its type to target the enclave this week.

Al Jazeera specified one of the regime’s targets as a “position belonging to the resistance” in the city.

Khan Yunis also reportedly came under fire by Israeli gunboats patrolling the waters off the coastal territory.

The Yemeni al-Masirah television network said the Israeli aircraft also hit an area lying between Khan Yunis and Gaza’s Rafah border crossing.

The Palestinian Shehab news agency identified some other targets as agricultural farms located near the Hay al-Zeytoun area in eastern Gaza.

It said the aerial attacks also struck a target near the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Hamas’ response 

Palestinian media outlets said Hamas had started retaliating against the Israeli aggression by firing defensive “anti-aircraft weapons.”

The movement, itself, said it had downed an Israeli drone over Khan Yunis.

The regime has alleged launch of light incendiary devices from the direction of Gaza towards the occupied territories as the so-called excuse for the far-and-wide escalation.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum says Israel has underestimated the situation, and will ultimately burn in the fire of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the week, Israeli aircraft launched similar heavy attacks against several targets throughout the Palestinian territory, citing reported affliction of injury on an Israeli trooper on Gaza’s border with the occupied territories.

Tel Aviv’s indiscriminate raids come while Gaza’s resistance groups have warned it strongly against its tempting another full-scale defensive operation.

The last such operation, called Sword of al-Quds, saw the groups rain down around 4,000 rockets on the occupied territories.

The movements staged the defensive campaign in response to the Israeli regime’s last war on the territory that saw it bombing the enclave for 12 straight days during May.