Israel strikes Gaza after Palestinians launch fire balloons

Dozens of Palestinian protesters have been killed and injured in recent demonstrations at border fence

A Palestinian protester throws back an Israeli tear gas canister on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip. EPA

The Israeli military hit three Hamas targets in Gaza on Friday after new protests along the border led to violence in which 28 Palestinians were wounded.

Palestinian protesters on Friday launched fire balloons into Israel, blackening large patches of vegetation on the other side of the border.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire wounded 28 Palestinians during protests along the barrier.

Palestinian activists for the past week have been protesting next to the fence separating Gaza and Israel.

The protests have turned violent, with demonstrators hurling explosives towards Israeli troops, and soldiers responding with tear gas and live fire.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said youths organised the protests in response to Israeli provocations.

On September 15, Israel launched its first air strike on Gaza since early July. Hamas sites were the targets.

A structure in Ashkelon, Israel destroyed by a rocket fired on Wednesday from the Gaza Strip. AP

Palestinians survey the damage of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A car in Ashkelon damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants. AP

Damage from an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. AP

Damage from an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Reuters

Israeli security forces cordon off a neighbourhood in Ashkelon hit by a rocket. AFP

A demonstration in support of the Gaza Strip near the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. AFP

Israel's Iron Dome defence system intercepts rockets in Ashkelon. AFP

The father of Palestinian girl Lianne Mdoukh, who was killed in Israel-Gaza fighting, carries her body during the funeral in Gaza. Reuters

Smoke rises over the Gaza Strip following an Israeli air strike. AP

Palestinians inspect a house damaged in an Israeli strike. Reuters

Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip. AFP

Rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel. Reuters

A rocket from Israel's Iron Dome defence system. AFP

Palestinians mourn for a man killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. AP

A building damaged in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. AFP

Rescuers pick through debris in the aftermath of the strikes. Reuters

Children survey the damage. Reuters

An Israeli drone flies over Khan Younis after the attack against members of militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Reuters

A woman looks out from her damaged building. AFP

A members of the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, secures the Gaza Strip area of Rafah. AP

Fire burns at a Gaza city apartment. AP

Men mourn outside Al Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinians inspect damage to their home. AP

Relatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Jihad Ghannam, who was killed in the strikes, mourn at Al Najjar hospital in the Rafah refugee camp. AFP

Fires burn soon after the pre-dawn strikes. Reuters

In Friday's strikes, an Israeli drone hit two Hamas positions and a tank struck a third, the military said.

It said shots had been fired at its troops from near one of the targets, without causing any casualties.

The latest casualties on the Palestinian side take the number of wounded in the protests to 88, Health Ministry figures have shown.

One protester was killed by Israeli fire while five died in an explosion that witnesses said may have been the result of the premature explosion of a hand grenade.

The violence in Gaza follows an Israeli announcement late on Sunday that it would keep the Erez border crossing closed.

Thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza are prevented from entering Israel by the closure, which an Israeli NGO, Gisha, condemned as "collective punishment".