Fires break out in Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza border

Firefighters are working to extinguish a number of fires in the Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, some of which were caused by balloon-borne incendiary devices, the fire department says.

Palestinian media is reporting that the Sons of Zoari terror group has launched hundreds of these arson balloons into southern Israel from Gaza throughout the day.

At least two fires in the Eshkol region of southern Israel were sparked by these devices, the local fire department says.

One of them caused a large amount of damage to a wheat field outside Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

שריפה פרצה בנחל עוז במועצה האזורית שער הנגב@Itsik_zuarets (צילום: אושרי צימר חדשות 24/7 בפייסבוק) pic.twitter.com/rvr4REFTsQ

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 23, 2019

Another fire, in the Hof Ashkelon region, is still raging as “large numbers of firefighting forces” are working to extinguish it, the fire department says.

This fire was found not to have been caused by a Gaza balloon, according to an initial investigation.

In addition, a huge number of firefighting teams, assisted by construction crews and volunteers, are working to extinguish a massive fire outside the community of Kiryat Malachi, which began in a wheat field and spread to a number of greenhouses and surrounding grasslands.

בלוני תבערה שהופרחו מרצועת עזה לעבר ישראל בשעות האחרונות@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/UdOiwZxZ2n

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 23, 2019

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“At this stage, the firefighters have control of the fire, and a lot of damage has been caused to the area. The firefighters are still working to fully extinguish the blazes,” a fire department spokesperson says.

The spokesman says it is not yet clear what sparked the fire.

— Judah Ari Gross