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Israel stops fuel deliveries to Gaza over fire balloons

The announcement was made after a particularly large wave of arson attacks on Monday.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel has stopped all gas delivery to the Gaza Strip’s power station following a spate of arson attacks on Monday that caused dozens of fires in Israeli communities close to the border, the office of the military liaison to the Palestinians said.

“In the wake of the uptick of incendiary balloons from Gaza into Israel and arsons in the Gaza border area, it has been decided to stop transfers of fuel to the Gaza power station via the Kerem Shalom crossing beginning this morning,” the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced Tuesday.

The breaking point came after the airborne attacks launched by Gazan terrorists set off 13 blazes. Most set fire to open areas, burning over 300 dunam (75 acres) of land before being extinguished.

One explosive balloon launched from Gaza landed in a kindergarten. The children had already left for the day so no one was hurt, nor was there any damage.

The head of the regional council where the kindergarten is located was infuriated and did not want to rely on luck to protect his citizenry, reported Mako News.

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“An incendiary balloon in a kindergarten is exactly like a missile in a kindergarten,” Tamir Idan charged. “It’s impossible to keep quiet. Every day there are fires in the [Gaza] envelope and there is no appropriate response from Israel. Our farmers are frustrated, and our children are growing up in a landscape of fires and the smell of smoke,” said Tamir Idan, head of the regional council

“The terrorism of the incendiary balloons must stop. I demand that the government act immediately before a disaster occurs, God forbid,” Idan added, noting that the children had gone home only minutes before the device landed.

“We can’t continue absorbing more and more incendiary and explosive balloons, and continue maintaining our routine in this reality,” he said.

Last year, Israel temporarily banned fuel and gas deliveries to Gaza several times, in reaction to arson attacks and the violent weekly clashes at the border fence between Gaza and Israel over the last year.