‘Suspicious’ Gaza balloon lands on grounds of empty school
Elementary school, in the Eshkol Regional Council adjacent to the Gaza border, is closed for summer vacation
A suspected explosive device attached to a helium balloon landed on the grounds of an elementary school in the Eshkol Regional Council on Tuesday.
The school is currently closed for summer vacation, so no kids were nearby when the balloon landed.
The council’s head of security arrived to “neutralize” the “suspicious object,” according to a statement by the local government.
Recent months have seen daily arson attacks from Gaza with incendiary kites and balloons that have burned thousands of acres of Israeli forests, farmland and brush.
Some 2,500 acres of nature reserves and national parks have been destroyed.
Following a significant flareup in violence over the weekend and continued airborne arson attacks, Israel severely limited the movement of goods into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing starting Tuesday and has threatened further action if the stream of kites and balloons does not stop.
Saturday saw some 200 rockets and mortar shells launched at Israel as the IDF carried out wide-ranging raids against terror targets across Gaza.
On Sunday, the IDF’s 162nd Armored Division launched an exercise simulating a war in the Gaza Strip, including the capture of Gaza City, which the military said was planned in advance and was not related to the weekend’s exchange of fire.
