Monitoring Desk
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Saturday it had “intercepted a small aircraft flying over the Gaza Strip,” where witnesses said they heard “explosions” near the border.
The army stressed that it was not a rocket or other fire that threatened Israelis. “It was not a projectile launch. The full routine continues on the Israeli home front,” it said.
The army did not say where it had come from or where the aircraft had been heading.
No Palestinian armed group has immediately claimed responsibility for flying the aircraft over Gaza.
Earlier on Saturday, the Gaza-based Islamic group said its leader Ziad al-Nakhala had visited Cairo and met the Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
The group said the two sides discussed “the latest situation in Jerusalem, and the West Bank areas, especially Jenin,” a flashpoint city and refugee camp, where last month Israel conducted its deadliest single raid in the West Bank in years, killing ten people.
The visit followed a trip by Kamel to Ramallah city in the West Bank, where he met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. They discussed the recent surge in violence in Palestinian areas.
Situation in Gaza Strip and Jerusalem
On Thursday, Israeli forces conducted air strikes on the Gaza Strip a few hours after intercepting a rocket. The rocket was allegedly fired from Palestinian territory.
Since the start of 2023, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 36 Palestinian citizens, including civilians, attackers, and militants.
Six Israeli civilians, including a minor and one Ukrainian national, were killed during the same period.
The densely populated Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million Palestinians reside, has been under a blockade of Israeli forces since Hamas ousted forces loyal to Mahmud Abbas in 2007.
