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Five fires caused by flaming kites near Gaza fence extinguished
Since March 30, Palestinians in the Strip have launched hundreds of flying devices with flammable materials into Israeli territory, starting over 200 blazes
Five fires broke out Saturday in the area of Kibbutz Be’eri and Kissufim near the Gaza security fence, after flaming kites were flown into Israeli territory from within the Hamas-controlled Strip.
All the fires were extinguished by local firefighting teams and security coordinators. No casualties were reported.
Using drones, a group of conscripted soldiers and hobbyists pressed into service have managed to bring down over 500 fire kites and balloons launched by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory over the past 10 weeks, a senior officer said Thursday.
The Israeli military anticipated that many more so-called “terror kites” and “terror balloons” would be flown into Israel from Gaza at the weekend as part of large-scale “March of Return” protests organized and supported by the Hamas terror group, which rules the coastal enclave.
שריפה פרצה ליד שדרות בעקבות עפיפון תבערה pic.twitter.com/vhwf8ob0TV
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 9, 2018
Since March 30, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched hundreds of helium balloons and kites bearing flammable materials into Israeli territory, starting over 200 fires, according to authorities.
The flying objects are fitted with a long string to which a Molotov cocktail, pouch of burning fuel or, in a few rare cases, an improvised explosive device is attached.
In Friday’s border violence, Gazans used helium-filled balloons to carry explosives, detonated by remote control, in attempts to attack troops, the IDF said. Officials said no soldiers were hurt in those attempted attacks.
Four Gazans were killed in clashes at the border Friday.
Nearly 18,000 dunams (4,500 acres) of agricultural fields, forests and grasslands have been burned, causing over NIS 5 million ($1.4 million) worth of damage, officials said.
In two months of mass protests at the Gaza border, over 120 Palestinians were believed killed and thousands wounded by Israeli military fire. The majority of the fatalities were members of terror groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have acknowledged. Israel said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that in order to cover the cost of damage to affected fields, the government would consider withholding tax revenue funds from the Palestinian Authority.
The decision raised eyebrows among Israeli analysts, who pointed out that the PA does not control the Gaza Strip. Indeed, the authority’s primary rival, the Hamas terror group, has ruled the enclave since ousting the PA in a violent coup in 2007. Making the PA financially responsible for the kites could incentivize Hamas to continue encouraging the tactic, analysts have warned.
