A massive blaze started by a Hamas incendiary balloon raged Saturday evening in Moshav Ein HaBesor, located in the Eshkol Regional Council district.
Eyewitnesses said they saw incendiary balloons from Gaza touch down in the moshav just a few moments before the fire broke out.
It was one of the biggest fires to break out in half year in southern Israel as a result of the arson terror from Gaza.
Teams of firefighters, security personnel and local farmers worked tirelessly through the night to try to keep the flames from reaching the greenhouses in the moshav.
Residents requested reinforcements as the flames began to spread.
“Since this is a landfill fire, it could burn for several days, and the smoke will continue spreading in accordance with the direction of the wind,” warned Eli Cohen, spokesperson for the Southern District Fire and Rescue Department.
As of 10:30 pm Saturday night, the flames were still burning at the moshav.
On Friday, some 50,000 chickens were burned alive in a suspected agricultural terror attack on a moshav at Bethlehem of the Galilee. The damage was estimated at approximately NIS 4 million (more than $1.1 million).