Israeli planes bomb Gaza just days into new government

The Israeli military early Wednesday said it had conducted airstrikes in the Gaza Strip_ after officials said the militant group Hamas had sent incendiary balloons into southern Israel from Gaza_ in the first eruption of hostilities since an 11-day air war between Israel and Hamas ended last month.

The Israeli military said it  struck military compounds belonging to the Hamas terror organisation_ which were used as facilities and meeting sites for terror operatives in Hamas Khan Younis and Gaza Brigades.

Palestinian news reports said one of the strikes caused property damage_ but there were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza_ a densely populated urban strip.

The day of rising tensions was the first test of a new Israeli coalition government just three days into its term. It started when the government permitted a far-right Jewish march to pass through Palestinian areas of Jerusalem on Tuesday night_ over the objections of Arab and leftist parties in the coalition_ and despite threats from Hamas that it would retaliate.

The march was a scaled-down version of an aborted far-right procession originally planned for last month_ which Hamas cited to justify firing rockets toward Jerusalem on May 10_ setting off the latest air war between the militants and Israel.

Gaza has barely begun to recover from last month s fighting_ which killed at least 250 Palestinians and 13 Israeli residents_ and damaged more than 16_000 homes in Gaza_ according to the United Nations_ and as Gaza militants fired more than 4_000 rockets into Israel. Rebuilding has yet to restart in earnest_ and Israel and Egypt_ which control access to Gaza_ are still withholding key financial and material assistance.

Some analysts believed those factors kept Hamas from launching full-scale rocket attacks after Tuesday s provocative Jewish procession through Jerusalem_ an annual event known as the flags march. Hamas frequently releases incendiary balloons into southern Israel_ and they tend to be less destructive than rockets_ although they sometimes scorch large stretches of farmland and land near homes.

Israel s new prime minister_ Naftali Bennett_ who was sworn in Sunday_ has taken a tough stance against the launching of these balloons in the past and criticised a previous government for its lack of response.

A few months before he was appointed defence minister in 2019_ Bennett wrote in a tweet that those launching the balloons were  terrorists who should be killed. According to Ynet_ an Israeli news site_ he also said that year that the balloons were life threatening and damaged Israeli deterrence against Hamas.  An explosive balloon is like an anti-tank missile_ he said_ adding_  whoever launches one is a terrorist who is trying to murder Israelis and must be hit.

The new government is under tremendous pressure from the right to be tough on Hamas  both internally_ from Bennett and his Yamina party_ and externally_ from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s Likud party. Some members of the coalition insisted that any blocking of the flags march would be giving in to threats from terrorists.

 Israel cannot be a hostage of a terrorist organisation_ Amos Yadlin_ former head of Israeli military intelligence_ said in a radio interview Tuesday.  As far as Hamas is concerned_ it dictates to Israel what to do in Jerusalem  it must be shown that it did not win here.