Gazans infiltrate Israel, torch heavy equipment

Gazans breached the Israeli border for the third time in three days, lighting storage containers on fire before retreating back to the Strip.

By: World Israel News Staff

As arson kites and balloons continued to sail into southern Israel on Sunday, a group of Gazans broke through the security barrier and set fire to construction equipment within Israeli territory, causing significant damage.

In addition to this incident near the border fence, three separate Israeli communities close to the Gaza Strip were engulfed in flames from kite-related fires, which firefighters battled throughout the day.

The IDF reported that the infiltrators on Sunday damaged equipment that belonged to a civilian contractors working on the security barrier, with no Israeli soldiers injured in the incident.

These attacks are the latest episode in a wave of arson terror emanating from the Gaza Strip as an outgrowth of the Hamas-organized “March of Return,” which has consisted largely of violently rioting near the coastal enclave’s border with the Jewish state.

Incendiary kites have remained a popular weapon of the rioters, and were responsible for the destruction of 75 acres of the Karmiya Nature Reserve, destroying animal habitats and scorching the region’s flora.

According to officials who surveyed the destruction, certain portions of the reserve were damaged beyond repair.

Since the start of the rioting, officials estimate that arson kites have set more than 270 fires, destroying around 6,200 acres of land adjacent to the Strip, including farms and crops.