Photo Credit: IDF
IED terror balloons flown into southern Israeli agricultural field from Gaza. Oct 19, 2018

Israeli Air Force pilots were busy Saturday tracking down a terrorist cell intent on flying incendiary balloons into Israeli territory to burn down forest land. An IAF aircraft attacked at least one of the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks, in southern Gaza.

At least three forests were set afire over the Sabbath due to Hamas terrorist activity. Incendiary balloons landed in the Kissufim, Be’eri and Shokeda Forests – all three located in the Gaza Belt region – setting them aflame. Teams of firefighters and Jewish National Fund (JNF) personnel battled the blazes, and successfully got them all under control by late Saturday afternoon.

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Hamas terrorists launched the incendiary balloons towards Israeli territory also on Friday during the usual Gaza border violence as well, despite warnings from Egyptian mediators that Israel would respond more seriously to its attacks.

IAF pilots likewise carried out an air strike against the terror cell that was preparing more terror balloon attacks against Israel, eliminating the threat.

IDF officials reported there were fewer rioters at the border this Friday than at previous events – 10,000 instead of the 20,000 who showed up last week – but despite clear efforts by Hamas to at least reduce the volume of violence, there was no move to eliminate it.

More than half of the forests in the western Negev have been burned down in just the past six months alone due to the campaign of incendiary balloon terror from Gaza.

The question is, where will Israel really draw the proverbial red line this time around?


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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.