Kibbutz field set on fire, apparently from Gazan incendiary device

A fire breaks out in a field outside Kibbutz Nir Am near the Gaza border on Sunday, apparently sparked by an incendiary device from the Palestinian coastal enclave.

The blaze comes hours after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced that Israel was prepared to remove the punitive economic measures it put in place earlier this month in response to these “fire kites and balloons,” if the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group stopped the airborne arson attacks.

Firefighters, local security officers and IDF soldiers have been called to the kibbutz, located approximately one kilometer (0.6 miles) from Gaza, in order to prevent the fire from spreading.

An investigation has been launched to confirm that the fire had indeed been sparked by an airborne incendiary device from Gaza, a spokesperson for the fire department says.

— Judah Ari Gross