The Israeli Air Force took to the skies over Gaza on Sunday evening after a day of balloon bombs and a single rocket attack aimed at southern Israel that sent one projectile exploding near the border in an open area.
“In response to the rocket and explosive balloons launched from Gaza at Israel, we just struck a Hamas military post in Gaza,” the IDF said in a statement.
Numerous clusters of colorful balloons filled the air over Jewish farms this weekend, carrying homemade bombs and explosives that could have turned deadly in a heartbeat, had they been picked up from the ground where they landed by an unsuspecting child.
On Sunday afternoon, one cluster of white and gold balloons was tied to a package wrapped in beautiful gold foil wrapping paper, as if it were a gift for a child – very, very dangerous. This balloon bomb, which is what it was, wrapped itself around a pole right next to a home in Moshav Kochav Michael, situated between Kiryat Gat and Ashkelon. The Israel Police bomb squad was called as soon as the balloon bomb was spotted, miraculously by an adult before a child could reach it.
One of the largest, prettiest bunches of orange balloons landed in a children’s park shortly after dark. Another cluster of golden balloons lightly dropped down with its package of explosives on the roof of a farmer’s agricultural building, also after dark.
A third bunch of multi-colored balloons, about 50 in all, landed in a field near a road where two security vehicles were waiting, just as the sun was setting.
A fourth balloon bomb failed to reach its intended destination, and blew up in midair, bursting into flames above a Jewish community near Israel’s southern border.