Warning sirens go off in the Eshkol and Kissufim regions near the south of the Strip, days after worst violence since 2014
The army’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted a rocket fired at southern Israel by a terrorist group in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night, the military said.
A second rocket was also launched around the same time, but appeared to fall on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The launches appear to be the first violation of a fragile ceasefire in effect since Wednesday morning, but comes after a weekend of intense violence along the Gaza border.
The two rocket launches triggered sirens in Israel’s Eshkol region, near the south of the Strip, shortly before the end of Shabbat. The sirens come as Israeli firefighters were battling huge fires in along the border caused by Palestinian fire kites.
A spokesperson for the Eshkol region said it appeared that no injuries or damage were caused by the debris from the interception of the rocket, but authorities were still searching the area.
The Eshkol spokesperson said no special instructions were given to residents of the area in light of the rocket launches.
On the Palestinian side of the border thousands attended a funeral for a young female volunteer medic, who Palestinians say was shot and killed by the IDF while tending the injured during violent protests on the Gaza border.
The Israeli army on Friday said the violence included “thousands of rioters” at five locations along the border, “burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure.”
Shots were fired at an army vehicle and a Palestinian had crossed into Israel, planted a grenade and returned to Gaza, the army said.
Israel says it is facing weekly attacks by violent protesters at the border. It says the riots are orchestrated by the Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, and are used as cover for attempted terror attacks and breaches of the border fence.
Firefighters were working to put out three large fires along the Gaza Strip border, believed to have been started by incendiary kites flown from the coastal enclave on Saturday.
The largest fire was near to Kibbutz Carmia, adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip. Preliminary estimates suggested that between 2,000 to 3,000 dunams (500 to 740 acres) of fields and parts of a nature reserve adjacent to the kibbutz were destroyed.
Firefighters were working to put out three large fires along the Gaza Strip border, believed to have been started by incendiary kites flown from the coastal enclave on Saturday.
The largest fire was near to Kibbutz Carmia, adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip. Preliminary estimates suggested that between 2,000 to 3,000 dunam (500 to 740 acres) of fields and parts of a nature reserve adjacent to the kibbutz were destroyed.
Officials at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority estimated that at least one third of the Carmia reserve had been destroyed.
Residents were working alongside with firefighters to try to contain the fires that have become almost daily occurrences since the start of the “March of Return” protests along the border at the end of March.
During the protests, Gazans have been flying kites into Israel outfitted with Molotov cocktails and containers of burning fuel, setting fire to large swaths of land.
It has become a widely adopted tactic during the weekly “March of Return” clashes on the Gaza border, which Israel accuses the Hamas terror group of orchestrating as a cover for attacks and attempts to breach the border fence.
Firefighters were also working to gain control of a blaze near Kibbutz Be’eri, which borders the central Gaza Strip.
Earlier Saturday, an additional fire had broke out in fields belonging to Kibbutz Nir Am also along the northern Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, firefighters battled similar brush fires between the Kissufim and Ein Hashlosha kibbutzim that authorities suspect were caused by firebomb-laden kites flown across the security fence by Palestinians.
Local residents told Israel Radio they were concerned that they would not be provided compensation for the damage, as the burden for proving they were victims of a terror attack fell on them.
Zionist Union MK Eitan Brosh told the radio that lawmakers from his party would tour the area Sunday and work to provide the residents with solutions to their ongoing distress.
The violent demonstrations were meant to end on May 15, but Hamas leaders have said they want them to continue.
In the past month, at least 300 attack kites have been flown across the border, starting hundreds of fires and causing an estimated tens of millions of shekels’ worth of damages.
Military planners have begun implementing new measures to combat the assaults, including options drawn from the IDF’s responses to rocket launches and other terror attacks.
A blaze set by Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border devastated a nature reserve inside Israel on Saturday, in what officials said was the worst day of fires since the demonstrators adopted the fire kite tactics in the last few months.
Arson investigators at the Carmia reserve said the fire was most likely set by a fire kite, or possibly a balloon filled with helium that dripped flames along the area, Hadashot news reported.
By evening, teams of dozens of firefighters and aircraft finally manged to bring the flames under control, but not before some 2,000 to 3,000 dunams (500 to 740 acres) of fields and parts of a nature reserve adjacent to Kibbutz Carmia were destroyed.
Firefighters battled three large fires and several smaller ones along the Gaza Strip border, believed to have been started by incendiary kites flown from the coastal enclave on Saturday.
Officials at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority estimated that at least one third of the Carmia reserve had been destroyed.
Residents worked alongside with firefighters and soldiers to try to contain the fires that have become almost daily occurrences since the start of the “March of Return” protests along the border at the end of March.
During the protests, Gazans have been flying kites into Israel outfitted with Molotov cocktails and containers of burning fuel, setting fire to large swaths of land.
It has become a widely adopted tactic during the weekly “March of Return” clashes on the Gaza border, which Israel accuses the Hamas terror group of orchestrating as a cover for attacks and attempts to breach the border fence.
Officials said that since the start of the protests the kites had set over 270 fires, destroying some 25,000 dunam (6,200 acres), or more than a third of all the land adjacent to the Strip.
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