IAF targets Palestinian terror cell planting bombs ‎near Gaza border ‎

The Israeli Air Force on Monday targeted a Palestinian ‎terrorist cell planting explosives on the Israel-‎Gaza Strip border.‎

Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday that ‎‎paramedics recovered two bodies from the scene of ‎the strike. ‎

‎"An IAF aircraft targeted terrorists who were ‎spotted approaching the security fence and placing a ‎suspicious-looking object next to it," the IDF ‎Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement.‎

Palestinian sources said the strike followed a tense ‎day on the border, as hundreds of Palestinians rioted ‎in northern Gaza and attempted to breach the border ‎fence. ‎

The Palestinians said that dozens of protesters were ‎hurt, mostly from tear gas inhalation.‎

Earlier Monday, a balloon carrying a fragmentation ‎grenade was sent into Israel from Gaza. ‎

The grenade landed in an open area and caused no harm, as it did not detonate. Police sappers were called to the scene and subsequently ‎neutralized the grenade safely.‎

‎"This demonstrates that not only is arson terrorism not ‎waning, they [the Palestinians] are taking it to the ‎next level," Eshkol Regional Council head Gadi Yarkoni said. "They are using explosives designed to maximize damage."

‎"The balloon and grenade were found in a peanut ‎field during a routine patrol by our security ‎guards," Yarkoni explained. "This field was slated to be harvested in the ‎coming days. We averted a disaster."‎

He further urged the government "to show zero ‎tolerance for the terrorism that is rearing its ‎head near our communities. We cannot allow this threat to become our daily routine."‎