GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A short period of calm is over between the Gaza Strip and Israel. After stopping in June, Palestinians have resumed launching incendiary and explosive balloons toward Israel. The Israeli army has responded each time by bombing Hamas military sites in the Gaza Strip, most recently on Aug. 13, when Israel also closed the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) commercial crossing and stopped all fuel imports into Gaza. Israel also reduced the fishing zone off the Gaza Strip coast from 15 to 8 nautical miles.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement the latest Israeli actions amount to “a dangerous act of aggression and an uncalculated step for which the occupation will not be able to bear the consequences.”
The Israeli airstrikes hit a school affiliated with UNRWA in al-Shati refugee camp in central Gaza City, but no casualties were reported. Eyad al-Bozom, spokesperson for the Hamas-run Interior Minsitry in Gaza, said Aug. 13, “Gaza City almost woke up to a catastrophe this morning after Israeli airstrikes targeted an elementary school where around 1,000 child were present.”
Bozom went on, “The bomb that fell on the school contains around 1,500 pieces of shrapnel, each enough to kill a person. It is laser guided, and any mistake could have been fatal.”
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