Israeli tanks strike Gaza post amid clashes

JERUSALEM/Gaza, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Army fired artillery at a Hamas post in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night amidst clashes along the fence between the besieged enclave and Israel.

The tank fire came after "balloons with explosives attached were launched from Gaza into Israel and explosive devices were hurled during the violent riots near Israel's border fence," an Army spokesperson said in a statement.

"In response, an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) tank targeted a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip," it said.

The violence followed a similar incident earlier in the afternoon, the Army said. Palestinian protesters near the fence hurled multiple explosive devices, lightly injuring a shepherd, according to Israeli local media.

In response, an Israeli Military aircraft targeted two Hamas observation posts in the southern Gaza Strip, the Army said.

Since the start of the "Great March of Return" in March 2018, Israeli soldiers have shot dead over 260 demonstrators and wounded around 26,000 others. Most of them were wounded by Israeli gunfire, according to officials of Gaza Health Ministry.

The rallies protest against the blockade which Israel has imposed since 2007 and the Israeli control over Gaza and the West Bank, territories seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Enditem