The IDF struck several Hamas targets in northern Gaza on Sunday after a rocket fired from the strip was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.

Earlier on Sunday an Israeli military helicopter attacked two Hamas positions after a cluster of balloons and a drone-like glider were launched from Gaza, Haaretz reports.

The items landed in a carrot field in the Sdot Negev region of southern Israel shortly before noon, local time.

The army said: “IDF attack helicopters struck two military positions belonging to the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip in response to the balloon-borne explosive device, which was launched by a model drone.”

It is the most recent flashpoint since large-scale protests broke out along the Gaza border earlier this year, which has seen near-daily clashes with Israeli troops.

The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it would disconnect all private smartphone apps that had previously been given access to data about rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip, fearing those apps could spread misleading information and false alerts.