ISRAEL’S war planes struck a number of targets in the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday night, hours after it announced restrictions on Palestinian fishing rights.

Missiles struck agricultural land in al-Sudania, north-west of Gaza, and a site east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Information Centre.

It was the latest breach of a fragile ceasefire agreement struck between Tel Aviv and Hamas on May 21, which brought an end to 11 days of Israeli bombing that had killed more than 250 Palestinians in Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the latest attack had been “a failed attempt to show off the regime’s impotent military power and to restore the image of its army totally tarnished by the battle of al-Quds Sword” — the name given to operations against Israel by resistance groups.

An Israeli drone was reportedly shot down over the town of Khuza’a in Khan Yunis on Sunday, while resistance forces shot at Israeli war planes in a bid to repel the attacks.

The air strikes came hours after Israeli authorities reduced by half the fishing zone off Gaza, an announcement it claimed was a response to attacks being launched from the besieged territory.

“The decision was made following the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, which constitutes a violation of Israeli sovereignty,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

Israel’s aggressive stance saw it launch missile strikes on Syria three times last week, with Tel Aviv claiming to be targeting Iranian forces, which are in the country aiding Damascus as it battles jihadist groups there.

Tel Aviv also shelled southern Lebanon after it claimed that rockets were launched from the region, a stronghold of the Shi’te Hezbollah movement.

The Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, conducted by the World Bank Group in partnership with the European Union and the United Nations and published earlier this month, put the cost of Israel’s May onslaught on Gaza at between $290 million and $380m, with recovery needs estimated to be as much as $485m (£350m).

In May the UN announced its first ever open-ended commission of inquiry into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians following a session arranged by the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan called the decision “anti-semitic,” while the US, which is not a member of the UN human rights body, said it deeply regretted the establishment of the inquiry.