Israel launches airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza

Israeli planes bombed three Hamas targets in the besieged Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday, the Israeli army said.

The airstrikes targeted a Hamas base in southern Gaza in retaliation for incendiary kites and balloons launched into Israel.

Ten rockets were fired from Gaza following the airstrikes, Israel's army said. It is unclear whether the rockets landed in Israel.

The Israeli army is pursuing a policy of targeting Hamas positions with airstrikes in response to incendiary kite attacks.

Since major border protests broke out at the end of March, at least 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the same time span, while no Israelis have been killed.

The kites, and more recently balloons, have become a potent symbol of a wave of Palestinian protests that broke out on March 30 against Israel's crippling decade-long blockade of Gaza.

No one has been hurt by the fires, but some 1,235 acres of fields have been burned by flames stoked by Mediterranean winds, causing around $2 million in damages, Israel's government has claimed.