Israeli soldiers gather near the barrier with the Gaza Strip on August 16 [Image Courtesy/Menahem Kahana/AFP]
Israeli warplanes and tanks bombed Hamas military sites early on Tuesday in response to the incendiary balloons launched from Gaza towards Israel's south, according to an Israeli army statement reports Al Jazeera.
The threat of a new Gaza war continues to rise as Palestinians demand an end to the devastating 13-year-long blockade and Israel tightens the screws on Gaza's economy while targeting Hamas positions.
Palestinian sources said the Israeli military bombed empty fields and some observation posts belonging to the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
No casualties or injuries were reported.
The Tel Aviv administration claimed that a fire broke out in the area after Palestinian activists sent incendiary kites and balloons to Jewish settlements around the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army frequently carries out airstrikes on border areas in retaliation for incendiary attacks which they claim are launched from Gaza.
Since August 6, the bisieged coastal enclave has witnessed military tensions with the Israeli army
Gaza's armed groups and Israeli forces are now on high alert and gearing up for further confrontation. Hamas officials say this time they will not cooperate until Israel fully lifts its blockade on Gaza.
In preparation for an escalation, the Israeli army on Sunday reinforced the deployment of Iron Dome missile batteries in the south.
Meanwhile, incendiary-balloon units released a statement on Saturday saying: "We will not retreat and will not rest until the demands of our people are met and the blockade is lifted." reports Al Jazeera
In Gaza, Palestinian factions are united behind the demand for Israel to lift the blockade.
On Friday, Gaza's Joint Chamber of the Palestinian Resistance Factions, which includes 13 armed groups, issued a statement.
"We will not allow the enemy to continue the unjust siege on our people ... It is the right of our people to express, by all appropriate means, their rejection of the blockade," it said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to assassinate Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders if the fire balloons continue, and suggested another war on Gaza is possible.
(With inputs from various agencies)