Incendiary balloons spark fire next to pool in Gaza-area community
Firefighters quickly extinguish second blaze sparked Thursday by incendiary device launched from Strip
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A pair of incendiary balloons apparently launched from the Gaza Strip landed inside an Israeli community near the Palestinian enclave on Thursday.
The balloons, which landed near the community pool, started a small fire that was quickly extinguished by volunteer firefighters, the Eshkol Regional Council said.
There was no damage or injuries caused as a result of the blaze.
Hadashot TV news reported that residents of the community spotted the balloons as they landed and were thus able to quickly alert the firefighters, who prevented the fire from spreading.
שני בלוני תבערה נחתו ליד בריכת שחייה בישוב במועצה האזורית אשכול. הם גרמו לשריפה קטנה שכובתה מהר בידי צוות כיבוי מתנדב מהישוב. אין נפגעים ולא נגרם נזק @pozailov1 pic.twitter.com/Oq12cs6BEP
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 26, 2018
Earlier Thursday, firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze along the Gaza border that they said was caused by an incendiary balloon launched from the Strip.
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 have 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.
The Times of Israel Community.