Border Police release video of laser shooting down Gaza arson balloons

‘Blade of Light’ system dispatches 90% of balloon-borne devices within its range, officials say, as onslaught continues to spark wildfires in southern Israel

Israel’s Border Police released a video on Thursday showing a laser system intercepting balloon clusters carrying incendiary objects toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The “Lahav Or” (Blade of Light) system on Wednesday shot down 32 balloon-borne incendiary objects, and effectively stops 90 percent of the clusters in its range, the Border Police said in a statement.

The system has been operational for several months, the statement said.

Security forces first unveiled the laser system in December. It was developed for police and the Israel Defense Forces by three engineers from the private sector who worked with Ben Gurion University researchers and technological departments of the Israel Police and the IDF.

Channel 12 news reported at the time that the laser is capable of engaging targets day or night with an effective range of two kilometers (1.6 miles). It can be moved around on a small trailer or installed on a truck.

Reports at the time said that only one working system had been built at a cost of around a million dollars.

Israeli soldiers extinguish a fire near Kibbutz Kissufim caused by an incendiary balloon launched from the Gaza Strip on August 19, 2020. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have intermittently sent waves of arson balloons across the border over the past several years, igniting fires and causing widespread environmental destruction in southern Israel, mainly to agricultural areas and nature preserves. Sometimes the balloons carry small explosive devices.

In recent weeks, terrorists in the Strip have again began launching the devices over the border, sparking hundreds of fires, as well as firing rockets and holding violent demonstrations at the border fence.

Balloon-borne incendiary devices launched from Gaza sparked at least 42 fires in the south on Thursday, according to the Fire and Rescue Service.

A statement from the fire service said most of the blazes were small and did not pose any danger.

Israel has responded to the uptick in violence with a series of nighttime airstrikes against Hamas terror targets, by limiting imports into the Strip, and by restricting its fishing zone.

Hamas told Egyptian mediators visiting the Strip that the escalation will continue unless Israel acquiesces to a new ceasefire agreement with the terror group, according to a Tuesday report.

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