New Israeli air raids 'target four Hamas positions' in Gaza

Israeli warplanes struck four new Hamas positions in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, as a flare-up continued to threaten a 2014 ceasefire agreement. "In response to the ongoing attacks against Israeli forces, IAF aircraft targeted four Hamas military posts in the southern Gaza Strip," an army statement said, referring to the blockaded Palestinian enclave. There were no immediate reports of casualties during the raids, which Palestinian security sources said struck farmlands near the border. The army said Hamas had "repeatedly fired and launched mortar rounds" across the border, saying there had been 10 such incidents since Wednesday. Hamas has accused Israeli forces of encroaching into Gazan territory. The bombing raids follow four similar attacks overnight Wednesday that injured four people, including three children, Palestinian and Israeli security officials said. The uptick in violence, the first time the two sides have fired at each other directly since a 2014 war, has raised fears that a ceasefire agreement could fail.