The threat of a new Gaza war continues to rise as Palestinians demand an end to the devastating 13-year-long blockade and Israel tightens the screws on Gaza's economy while targeting Hamas positions.
Israeli warplanes and tanks bombed Hamas military sites early on Tuesday in response to the incendiary balloons launched from Gaza towards Israel's south, according to an Israeli army statement.
It was the 16th day in a row that Israel launched attacks against Hamas's infrastructure and agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's military factions did not respond on Wednesday, although they previously launched rockets towards Israel after attacks last week.
No serious injuries were reported on either side.
The current escalation between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel was caused by the launching of incendiary balloons by Palestinians into southern Israel in the past two weeks as a way to pressure Israel to lift its crippling blockade imposed in 2007. The rigged balloons and kites often start blazes on farms in Israel.
Over the past two years, following the momentum of the Great March of Return protests, multiple deals were reached between Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel with the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.
Hamas, which governs Gaza, was to provide security along the demarcation dividing the Palestinians and Israelis, in return for Israel's alleviation of the blockade.
But Palestinian leaders in Gaza accused Israel of continuing to renege on implementing its side of the bargain.
According to local Palestinian media reports, Israel has failed to extend Gaza's allowed fishing zone to 20 nautical miles, allow the construction of a new power line into the Gaza Strip, permit Gaza's power plant to operate on natural gas, and facilitate the movement of goods, including the entry of 1,200 trucks a day, through the Karem Abu Salem (known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis) crossing.
In response to the launching of incendiary balloons, Israel has taken punitive measures against Gaza by restricting goods coming through the crossing, fully closing the sea to Gaza's fishermen, and halting fuel supplies, causing the territory's sole power plant to shut down with electricity reduced to four hours a day.
"The current escalation is a confrontation between the Palestinian factions who are fighting to lift the blockade on Gaza, and Israel who is fighting twice as hard to keep the blockade in place," political analyst Husam al-Dajani told Al Jazeera.