Firefighters in south battle blazes sparked by suspected Gaza balloons

Firefighters in southern Israel worked to extinguish at least nine blazes sparked by incendiary balloons flown over the border from the Gaza Strip Thursday, the Israeli Fire and Rescue Services said.

A spokesman said the fires broke out near several Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza border, including Kibbutz Be’eri.

On Wednesday, the fire service said there were four blazes started by suspected incendiary balloons near Kibbutz Be’eri over the Yom Kippur holiday.

The use of fire balloons had been halted for several weeks, after several months of multiple daily attacks that left thousands of acres in southern Israel scorched and sparked fears of children being injured by bombs placed on balloons or kites and launched over the border.

The return of the fire balloons come as tensions along the Gaza-Israel frontier have ramped back up after a brief lull, with the Hamas terror group leading weekly marches on the fence.

On Wednesday evening a Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli fire in clashes near the border in southern Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave said.

On Tuesday evening, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in clashes along the border, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The two were killed during protests near the Erez checkpoint between Gaza and Israel, the scene of regular confrontation between stone-throwing youths and Israeli soldiers in recent months.

There was no immediate comment from the army about the clashes, which came just after the start of the Yom Kippur holiday in Israel.

On Monday, two Gazans were killed in an Israeli strike near the border fence east of Khan Younis in the southern Strip, Palestinian reports said. The Israel Defense Forces said that its aircraft had targeted Palestinians who approached the fence and placed what the military said was a suspicious object there.

Also on Monday a balloon with a hand grenade attached to it was discovered in a peanut field near the Gaza border, between the southern kibbutzim of Re’im and Urim, police said Monday.

A surge of violence in Gaza began in March with a series of protests along the border that were dubbed the “March of Return.”

The clashes, which Israel says are being orchestrated by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, have included regular rock and Molotov cocktail attacks on troops, as well as shooting and IED attacks aimed at IDF soldiers and attempts to breach the border fence.

Israel says its actions — and in particular the use of live ammunition — are necessary to defend the border and stop mass infiltrations from the territory.

Israel has accused the Hamas terror group of encouraging the protests and using them as cover to attempt to carry out terror attacks, including firing at troops and attempting to breach the border fence.