Gaza City, August 3 (RHC)-- Israel warplanes have launched new airstrikes against the positions of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas in the central parts of the besieged Gaza strip.

The attacks have targeted west of Deir al-Balah city, a report by RT Arabic said.  A military base belonging to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has also been hit by three rockets fired from the Israeli warplanes, Israeli media claim.

The sound of several explosions has also been heard from east of Khan Yunis in the south of Gaza Strip, according to a report by RT.  The attacks came shortly after the Israeli military claimed its iron dome air defense system has intercepted a rocket fired from the besieged enclave towards the occupied territories.  

The Tel Aviv regime also claimed its forces have clashed with a four-member “terrorist group” laying mines in the occupied territories’ borders with Syria in early hours of Monday.

During the clashes, it said, the Israeli military’s combat helicopter has opened fire and injured several members of the group.  The Israeli military’s northern command center is on standby to counter any scenario, Al Jazeera TV quoted sources in the regime as saying.

Israel has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.

The crippling blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty in the Gaza Strip.