Israel strikes Gaza after rocket attack

JERUSALEM: Israeli warplanes bombed bunkers at a Hamas base in Gaza early Thursday following the first rocket fire from the territory since early May, the military said. Israeli aircraft targeted “underground infrastructure” at the base in the southern Gaza Strip, it said in a statement.

The strike came after Israeli air defences intercepted a rocket launched from the territory, the first since hundreds were fired in early May in a two-day flare-up which killed four Israelis and 25 Palestinians. On Wednesday evening, Israel announced it had banned all fishing off Gaza in retaliation for the launch of more incendiary balloons from the enclave. “Due to the continuous launching of incendiary balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, it has been decided tonight (Wednesday) not to allow access to Gaza´s maritime space until further notice,” the Israeli defence ministry department responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, COGAT, said.