Israel warplane targets Palestinian kite-flyers in Gaza

An Israeli warplane on Thursday struck an area near the Gaza Strip’s northern city of Jabalia without causing casualties, Anadolu Agency reports.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent based in the area, the airstrike occurred east of Jabalia, where Palestinian activists were attempting to launch incendiary kites and balloons into Israeli territory.

The airstrike, which has since been confirmed by the Israeli military, did not result in any casualties, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Since Palestinians began staging rallies along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone one year ago, more than 250 demonstrators have been killed by Israeli army gunfire.

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As part of the ongoing rallies, Palestinian activists have launched numerous incendiary kites and balloons over the buffer zone into Israeli territory, where they have caused considerable material damage.

Protesters demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has largely gutted the enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.