Israeli Military Strikes Hamas Outpost in Northern Gaza Strip

No casualties have been reported after the Israeli military responded to recent attacks targeting its positions with retaliatory tank fire at a Hamas outpost in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF spokesperson's unit reported.

Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group and blames the movement for inciting violence in the Gaza border region, as well as using protests to stage attacks against the Israeli military.

A six-week protest campaign, dubbed the Great March of Return and organized by Hamas, began on March 30. According to Hamas, Palestinians are peacefully demanding their right to return to territories they claim were illegally seized by Israel, while Israeli authorities say that Palestinians can settle



only in Gaza and the West Bank.

The ongoing Palestinian protests have been aggravated by the official opening of the US Embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem, which led to deadly clashes between the demonstrators and the Israeli forces.

Trump made the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017. That same month, a UN resolution requiring countries not to establish diplomatic missions in the contested city of Jerusalem gained the support of 128 countries, including Russia, China and most of the US's European allies. Washington moved ahead with its decision anyway. Speaking at the embassy transfer ceremony on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move "historic."