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Israel strikes Hamas in Gaza after balloon bomb lands in Negev

The IDF took action after Hamas sent an explosive device into Israeli territory.

By David Jablinowitz, World Israel News

The Israel Air Force struck two Hamas positions in the eastern Gaza Strip on Sunday in response to an explosive device that was flown into southern Israel earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

On Sunday morning, a bomb was flown into Israel using a large cluster of balloons and a drone-like glider device, landing in a carrot field in the Sedot Negev region of southern Israel shortly before noon.

In retaliation for the cross-border attack from Gaza, Israeli military helicopters struck two Hamas positions east of the city of Khan Younis, according to the IDF.

Palestinian media reported that Israel also attacked targets near Jabalia, in northern Gaza, and in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, in the center of the strip. The IDF refused to comment on the Palestinian reports.

“The IDF will continue to act in defense of the citizens of Israel and against terrorism from the strip,” the army said.

There was no clear charge that Hamas had launched the balloons into Israel, but the longstanding Israeli policy is that because Hamas rules in the coastal enclave, it bears ultimate responsibility for any such attack.