IDF fires at Gazans preparing incendiary kite to send into Israel
No immediate reports of injuries in airstrike in central Gaza, as near-daily arson attacks from the coastal enclave continue
An Israeli aircraft fired at a group of Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip who were preparing to send a incendiary kite into Israeli territory late on Wednesday night.
There were no reports of injuries in the Israeli strike.
Since March 30, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched hundreds of kites and helium balloons bearing flammable materials, and occasionally explosives, into Israeli territory.
The near-daily fires sparked by these airborne arson devices have burned thousands of acres of farmland, forests and nature reserves in the regions around the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli officials.
The Tax Authority estimated that the damage will cost upwards of NIS 5 million ($1.4 million).
On Saturday, an Israeli aircraft for the first time attacked a group of three Gazans preparing a store of balloons that Palestinians have been using to send incendiary devices over the border during Gaza protests, the army said.
No injuries were reported in the strike near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. The IDF said the aircraft fired “a warning shot.”
“We view the use of incendiary balloons and kites very seriously and will continue to act to prevent their use,” the army said at the time.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed withholding tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority to pay for the damage, though critics are skeptical of the plan as the kites and balloons are being launched from Gaza, where the PA has limited control.
The military has sought to counter these kites and balloons with teams of soldiers operating drones. Israeli officials have deemed the drone program a success, but it has not offered a perfect solution.
On Monday, a balloon laden with burning material landed on the roof of a storehouse in one of the communities in the Hof Ashkelon region, causing light damage to the building and surrounding area before it was put out, a spokesperson for the region said.
Multiple fires were also reported in the Sha’ar Hanegev region.
Some 500 dunams (124 acres) were burned near Kibbutz Or HaNer, a spokesperson for the region said. Another 40 dunams (10 acres) were set on fire in the area around Kibbutz Mefalsim.
One blaze broke out in the community’s agricultural fields, another a little farther from Mefalsim, along the Route 232 highway leading to the nearby Kfar Azza, a spokesperson for the region said.
The fire shut down traffic along the highway in both directions for 45 minutes, interfering with school bus services, the Sha’ar Hanegev spokesperson said.
A fire near Kibbutz Nir Am also caused damage to a number of beehives, she said.
A fire in Eshkol also forced authorities to temporarily shut down the roads between Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha and Kibbutz Kissufim.
Israeli officials have been split on how to treat the Palestinians who launch these balloons and kites.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has called on the military to shoot on sight anyone flying these so-called “terror kites.”
However, a senior officer in the army’s Southern Command last week said the military considers these arson attacks to be serious, but representing “a different kind of danger.”
