A number of balloon-borne incendiary devices exploded Thursday over Israeli communities near the Gaza border, including one that detonated above a school.
Students at the elementary school in the southern city of Sderot were rushed to bomb shelters, according to Hebrew-language media.
Nobody was physically hurt, but several people were reportedly suffering from anxiety.
A second suspected explosive device was found outside another school in Sderot.
צרור הבלונים שאותר סמוך לבית ספר בשדרות. אין נפגעים ולא נגרם נזק, חבלן בדרך למקום@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/ULrxduHJW0— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 13, 2020
Also Thursday, an airborne explosive detonated over communities in the Sdot Negev region, which borders the Gaza Strip. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The balloon launches came despite a report earlier in the week that Gaza balloon-launching cells would cease fire.
The al-Quds daily reported Tuesday, citing an “on-the-ground source,” that terror factions in Gaza had decided to halt the launching of balloon-borne explosive devices from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The report came less than a day after an Egyptian security delegation concluded a visit to Gaza, where it met Hamas terror group officials and toured the border region between the coastal enclave and Egypt.
The report said that the leaders of the balloon launching units, which are believed to be affiliated with various factions, made the decision.
The past several weeks have seen a marked uptick in the flying of balloon-borne explosive devices from Gaza into Israel, as well as rocket launches from the Strip.
Palestinians prepare incendiary balloons near the city of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, June 25, 2019. (Hassan Jedi/Flash90)
The Lebanese pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources in Palestinian terror groups, that the Egyptian delegation had conveyed a message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hamas in which he demanded “a return to calm.”
The sources told the daily that Netanyahu’s message, which the Egyptian delegation received from Israeli security officials in Tel Aviv on Sunday, included a threat that Israel would “deliver a major blow to Hamas with American and international cover” if calm does not resume.
Suspected balloon-borne bomb lands in Israeli town near Gaza border
A bunch of balloons carrying a suspected explosive device from the Gaza Strip landed in the Israeli town of Netivot Friday morning.
Police sappers were called to dispose of the hazard. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Thursday saw a number of balloon-borne incendiary devices explode over Israeli communities near the Gaza border, including one that detonated above a school.
Friday’s incident came after an Israeli defense official told reporters Thursday night that Hamas had “sent messages to Israel that they’d decided unilaterally to stop launching balloons and rocket fire at Israel.”
The area has seen weeks of tension and unrest along the border, with dozens of explosive and incendiary devices being launched each day in some cases, as well as rocket and mortar fire from the Strip.
In exchange for the cessation of such attacks, the official said, Israel would end the retaliatory sanctions it put in place against Palestinians in the Strip, specifically the revocation of some 500 permits allowing businessmen out of Gaza and a restriction of the fishing zone to 10 nautical miles from the usual 15.
“Tonight and the coming weekend will serve as a test of stability,” the defense official said in a statement.
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