Air raids, exchange of fire raise Gaza tensions

Israel launched air raids on the Gaza Strip yesterday after a day of tensions along the border of the Palestinian territory whose Islamist rulers warned against an escalation.

Air strikes hit around Gaza's derelict international airport near the southern city of Rafah and in nearby farming areas, without causing any casualties, said the territory's Hamas-run interior ministry.

Israel's army said its warplanes had hit five sites operated by Hamas. The raids followed a bout of violence on the Gaza-Israel border yesterday, with exchanges of fire that put a 2014 ceasefire agreement to the test.

Israeli tanks fired into the Palestinian enclave at least twice, saying it was in response to mortar fire across the border, while the army designated an Israeli border town a closed military zone.

Earlier the Israeli army twice confirmed its tanks had fired on targets in Gaza. There were no reported casualties and no claims of responsibility for the mortar fire.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad released separate statements warning Israel against any escalation along the border.

The violence puts pressure on a ceasefire that has held since the last round of hostilities in Gaza ended in summer 2014 which killed 2,251 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 Israelis, including 67 soldiers.