Firefighters douse blaze caused by incendiary balloon near Gaza
Flames spread through Israeli area close to the northern part of the Palestinian coastal enclave
Firefighters on Thursday were called to extinguish a blaze along the Gaza Strip border that they say was caused by an incendiary balloon sent across the border from the Palestinian enclave.
The fire, which spread near the northern Strip, came a day after blazes raged outside Israeli communities in the south.
One of those blazes was also caused by an incendiary balloon, firefighters said.
Wildfires spread quickly in the hot and dry conditions.
Since March 30, southern Israel has experienced many fires as a result of incendiary devices attached to balloons or kites launched from Gaza across the border into Israeli territory.
Over 7,000 acres of land has been burned, causing millions of shekels in damages, according to Israeli officials. The attacks have continued almost daily, although there has been a marked reduction in numbers since the weekend when Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, reportedly agreed to a ceasefire.
Despite a drop this week in the number of such arson attacks, violence flared Wednesday and early Thursday after a Hamas sniper shot and injured an IDF officer. Israel responded with tank fire and airstrikes on Hamas targets and rockets were fired from the Palestinian territory at communities in southern Israel.