Israel hit Gaza with airstrikes on Sunday after incendiary
balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave caused fires in the Jewish
state, with no reported injuries on either side.

The airstrikes were targeted at an open area in northern
Gaza and a Hamas training site in southern Khan Yunis, AFP reported quoting Palestinian
security sources.

The strikes came after Israel cut by half the fishing zone off the blockaded coastal territory, a common response following projectile
attacks by armed groups in Gaza.

Israel’s army had no immediate comment on the strikes.

Earlier,  the military
branch responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories (COGAT)
said the fishing zone had been reduced from 12 nautical miles to six.

“The decision was made following the continued
launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, which
constitutes a violation of Israeli sovereignty,” it said in a statement.

Hamas was “responsible for all activities within the
Gaza Strip and all actions originating in the Gaza Strip are directed towards the
state of Israel. It will therefore bear the consequences for the violence
committed against the citizens of the state of Israel “, COGAT said.

Israeli firefighters said earlier on Sunday that they
extinguished brush blazes at three spots in the Eshkol region near the border, blaming “incendiary balloons” as the cause.

The balloons are basic devices intended to set fire to the farmland surrounding the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.

On July 12, Israel announced it was re-expanding the fishing
zone off Gaza and allowing additional imports into the Palestinian territory
but warned the measure could be reversed in response to fresh unrest.

An 11-day conflict in May saw Israel launch hundreds of air
strikes on Gaza, and Hamas fire thousands of rockets at Israel.

Prior to the May conflict, the Gaza fishing zone was 15
nautical miles, but Israel reduced it during the warfare.

There has been sporadic unrest since a ceasefire ended the
conflict, with incendiary balloons launched from Gaza and Israeli reprisal airstrikes targeting facilities belonging to Hamas. No casualties have been
reported.

The last time balloons from Gaza caused a fire in Israel was
early this month.