Israel attacks Gaza after flaming kites set farmland alight

Israel has carried out an air raid in northern Gaza Strip, saying it was retaliating for Palestinians setting fire to Israeli land.

In recent days, Palestinian protesters have used flaming objects attached to kites to set fire to agricultural land just over the Gaza border.

The target of the Israeli strike was a location from where the kites were being launched, according to army spokesperson Avichay Adraee.

No casualties were reported on the Palestinian side as a result of the attack. 

Israeli fire services spokesperson Yoram Levy told DPA news agency that at least 15 fires were caused by the kites so far.

The news comes after at least six people were killed and three others wounded by an explosion in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the Hamas-administered territory.

Hamas’ military wing has said Israel was responsible for the explosion, which it said took place during a “complex security and intelligence operation”, AFP news agency reported.

Israeli officials have denied the allegation.

Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have been protesting for weeks as part of the Great March of Return movement.

On Saturday, Israeli forces again fired live ammunition and tear gas at Palestinians.

Demonstrators burned tyres near the fence to use as a smokescreen from Israeli gunfire.

At least 350 people have been injured in this weekend’s rallies – three of them critically.

The rallies are part of a six-week protest that will culminate on May 15 to mark what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” – a reference to Israel’s establishment in 1948 and when 750,000 Arabs were removed from Palestine.

Since the protests began on March 30, at least 41 Palestinians in the coastal enclave have been killed by Israeli forces and more than 7,000 wounded in total.

Marchers are demanding the right to return to their homes seized by Israel in 1948.