The shots came after days of explosive balloons being launched into southern Israel from the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMAn Israeli military vehicle is seen at the Israel-Gaza border fence in the southern Gaza Strip, February 28, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)
IDF troops fired smoke shells into the Gaza Strip to evacuate civilian workers after shots were fired toward Israeli workers along the border fence.“There were reports of gunfire at works on the perimeter fence in the southern Gaza Strip. Work on the fence was stopped and smoke shells were fired,” the IDF said Sunday.The shells were fired in the area of Kissufim to evacuate the contract workers. A force was then scrambled to the spot where the incident occurred. There were no injuries or casualties to troops or the civilian contract workers.Palestinian media reported that the IDF fired shells toward Hamas observation posts in the vicinity of Deir el-Balah but the IDF did not confirm the reports.The Eshkol Regional Council said that all work, including agricultural labor near the fence, had been suspended, and all routes leading to the fence were being blocked by the military. There was otherwise no change in guidelines to residents, it said.The shots came after days of explosive balloons being launched into the South from Gaza.The IDF launched on Thursday retaliatory strikes against targets in northern Gaza in response to the balloons, which ignited several fires in Israel. Police were also called to detonate explosive devices attached to balloon clusters, including in Arad, about 80 km. away.
