Israeli military aircraft fired at two groups of Palestinians launching incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip, the army said on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said its aircraft shot at two separate groups launching balloons from the northern and southern Strip.
There were no immediate report of casualties in Gaza.
According to the Ynet news site, some clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops were also reported near the border in northern Gaza.
At least 11 Gazans were injured in the border demonstrations on Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.
A protest flotilla was also makings its way toward the maritime border with Israel in the north of the Strip.
For a year, Gaza protesters have launched hundreds of incendiary kites and balloons into Israel, sparking fires that have destroyed forests, burned crops, and killed livestock. Over 7,000 acres of land have been burned, causing millions of shekels in damages, according to Israeli officials. Some balloons have carried improvised explosive devices.
On Monday, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip resumed nighttime protests along the border between Israel and the coastal enclave, a week after halting them. Pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed Palestinians in several locations in the border area, setting off small explosions, lighting tires on fire, and pointing lasers at Israeli security forces.
A day earlier, Israel’s high-level security cabinet met to discuss efforts to restore calm and prevent an escalation of violence with the Palestinian enclave ahead of the April 9 elections, Channel 13 news reported.
The meeting came after an escalation of violence was sparked by two rockets shot from Gaza at Tel Aviv last Thursday evening, in what the army now believes to have been an accident. Israel carried out over 100 airstrikes in response overnight Thursday-Friday. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said four people were injured in the IDF attacks.
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