A Palestinian protester throws a burning projectile towards Israeli forces during a demonstration east of Gaza City by the border with Israel, on June 15, 2021, to protest the Israeli ultranationalist March of the Flags in Jerusalem’s Old City which celebrates the anniversary of Israel’s 1967 occupation of Jerusalem’s eastern sector. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — The Israeli air force launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip early Wednesday after militants in the Palestinian territory sent incendiary balloons into southern Israel, security sources and witnesses said.
The airstrikes and balloons marked the first major flare-up between Israel and Gaza since a ceasefire on May 21 ended 11 days of heavy fighting that killed 260 Palestinians, according to Gaza authorities, and 13 people in Israel, the police and army there said.