ISRAEL launched missiles on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, breaking a fragile ceasefire just two days after the new government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was sworn in.

The aerial bombardment continued until the early hours of this morning with Tel Aviv insisting it was responding to incendiary balloons sent from the besieged enclave into southern Israel.

A statement from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said it had struck Hamas targets, warning that it was “ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting in the face of continued terrorist acts emanating from Gaza.”