Dozens of fires have been reported in Southern Israel as the Palestinian set fires to pressure Israeli leadership
Rabat –Dozens of fires broke out in Southern Israel on Saturday as the Palestinian balloon campaign appears to become more widespread . Some residents of Gaza are attaching smoldering fuses onto balloons and sending them across the border to set fields alight. The primitive tactic has emerged in recent months as the siege on Gaza has intensified.
— Local Focus – Security Alerts (@LocalFocus1) August 22, 2020
Footage of burning fields emerged on social media as Saturday saw an influx of balloons landing around the town of Sderot near the Gaza border. It is clear the Palestinian balloon campaign has limited range as all reported fires occurred very close to the walls and fences that surround Gaza.
The balloon campaign witnessed on Saturday came after days of intensified Israeli bombing of Hamas targets within the Palestinian enclave. Hamas’ military wing has fired seven rockets at Israel, six of which the Israeli Iron Dome system intercepted. One rocket hit a home in Sderot with no casualties or injuries.
Growing trend
Amit Yifrach head of a prominent Israeli settler movement wrote a letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz saying “Balloon terrorism has once again struck the residents of the western Negev. Over 200 fires have been caused by the arson balloons, seriously affecting the residents’ lives and is posing a real danger to life and property.”
From the large incendiary balloon fire this morning near Or Haner.
(Photos: Amnon Ziv) pic.twitter.com/utYSPxSy1c
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 22, 2020
Whether the balloon campaign will help the Palestinian cause remains to be seen as the Israeli Defense Forces have shown little reluctance in retaliating. The balloons from Gaza have started dozens of fires in the past week, with 42 fires reported on Thursday alone.
On Saturday, Israeli border forces used live ammunition to try to shoot down balloons as they floated over the border.
Video: In an attempt to shoot down Gaza flaming/explosive balloons; Live ammunition fired by IDF in the vicinity of Technical Fence pic.twitter.com/mXXTuq0a77
— Local Focus – Security Alerts (@LocalFocus1) August 22, 2020
Gaza residents have only three hours of electricity a day, and few remaining channels for political activism. The “Great March of Return” protests in 2018 and 2019 resulted in Palestinian deaths and injuries without any political result, prompting many to chose more drastic tactics. The Palestinian balloon campaign has so far caused no casualties or injuries.
Read also: From Gaza to Rabat, the Tactics of Israel’s ‘Art of War’
