The first wave of Palestinian airborne arson attacks on Israel from Gaza Strip using airborne incendiary devices (incendiary balloons, incendiary kites, etc.) was launched in May 2018 during the 2018 Gaza border protests. These attacks are taking an advantage of the prevailing westwards winds which propel the airborne devices to Israel. [1] [2] The fires that ensued annihilated distinctive habitats, ecosystems, and agricultural fields. [3] [4]
Since the beginning of the border riots the Palestinians increased the launches of incendiary kites. [5] [6] [7] [8] This primitive weapon is very cheap and it eluded detection by IDF surveillance and the Palestinians even managed to down with slingshots some IDF surveillance drones which were flying low to knock down the incendiary kites. By early May, hundreds of kites were sent to Israel since the beginning of the riots. Hundreds of acres of JNF forests suffered from arson. The agriculture fields suffered half million of shekels of immediate damage and were facing long-lasting consequences because it would take several years to restore the incinerated vegetation and soil. [9] On May 2 kites caused a huge fire in the Be'eri Forest destroying several hundred dunams of forest. [10]
Since May 7, 2018, the increasing use of a simpler method was reported: incendiary balloons carrying already-lit Molotov cocktail launched from the Gaza strip, in addition to the kites. The balloons have a longer range compared to kites. The Molotov cocktail causes the balloons to explode in midair, with burning material falling down. They caused fire in seven different locations, including a wheat field near Mefalsim and the Be'eri Forest. [1] Occasional launches of the balloons were reported since early April, but since May they were used on a massive scale. [11]
On May 11 IDF deployed new, small remote-controlled drones with knives on their wings to combat incendiary kites by cutting their guide lines, reportedly downing more than 40 kites in the first two days. [12] The method ultimately proved ineffective. [11]
By July 2018, incendiary kites and balloons started 678 fires in Israel, burning 910 hectares (2,260 acres) of woodland, and 610 hectares (1,500 acres) of agricultural lands. [13] Some balloons landed in residential areas of the Eshkol Regional Council [14] and the Sdot Negev Regional Council. No one was injured. [15] One balloon cluster reached Beersheba, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Gaza strip. [16] [17]
On July 9, 2018, in response to incendiary attacks, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom border crossing. [18] On July 16, transfer of gas and fuel was stopped via the crossing. [19]
Continued airborne arson attacks were reported in 2019, [20] [21] [22] 2020 [23] [24] (in August 2020 fuel shipments to Gaza Strip were suspended again, in response of the resumed arson attacks. This caused the shut down of the only Gaza Strip power plant. [25] ), and 2021. [26] In July 2021 Israel has reduced the fishing zone off Gaza by half, from 12 nautical miles to 6, in response to incendiary balloons launched into the Eshkol Regional Council area. [27]
To combat the new form of terrorism, the only reliable method was constant monitoring and putting out the fires by hand. [11] In February 2020, the Light Blade (Lahav or), a new laser weapon system was deployed as an operational experiment to the Gaza border against kites and balloons. [28]
A member of the Sons of Zouari group, responsible for many arson attacks, said in an interview:
"We, as Palestinians, do not recognize these fields as belonging to the enemy. These are our lands, and the fields planted on them are not theirs by right. These are our lands, and we have the right to them. We say to them: We will not let you sow our lands and enjoy them. We will burn your fields, which you harvest to pay for the bullets that you use to shoot children and peaceful unarmed demonstrators." [29]
The resulting fires caused harm to wildlife, unique habitats and ecosystems. [30] While agricultural fields are likely to recover quickly, this is not so for wildlife in protected areas. In 2018 Israel Nature and Parks Authority reported that about 10sq km of conservation area was affected. Much of the flora would return within a year, but the recovery of the complete ecosystem will take much longer. Reportedly, both larger (foxes, porcupines, jackals) and smaller (rodents, snakes, insects, etc.) animals have been killed in numbers. Since the reserves adjacent to Gaza are relatively small, the relative impact of the fires is relatively large. [31] [32] There are concerns about the dwindling flora diversity after the fires, and the encroachment of the invasive species into the recovering areas. [33]
Among the affected protected areas were the Be'eri Badlands Nature Reserve, Karmia Sands Nature Reserve, and Besor Stream Nature Reserve. [31] [33]
Of concern is air pollution due to massive fires. [31] In addition of smoke due to arsons, tire burning during the protests have led to the release of toxic chemicals into the air. Burning forests increase the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, i.e., contribute to the greenhouse effect. [32]
Nahal Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern part of the Negev desert close to the border with the Gaza Strip and near the development towns of Sderot and Netivot, it is under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 479. A nearby IDF military base is known by the same name.
Eshkol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council. Due to its proximity to the Gaza Strip, the region has experienced numerous sporadic waves of violence, primarily as a result of rocket attacks, mortar strikes, and fires caused by incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza Strip. These waves of violence often result in widespread damage to farms and structures within the region.
This is the Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2007.
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The following is a timeline of the 2014 Gaza War. Over 2014, Palestinians suffered the highest number of civilian casualties since the Six-Day War in 1967, according to a United Nations report, given the July–August conflict, and rising tolls in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A spike in Israeli casualties also occurred. 2,256 Palestinians and 85 Israelis died, while 17,125 Palestinians, and 2,639 Israelis suffered injuries.
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The 2018–2019 Gaza border protests, also known as the Great March of Return, were a series of demonstrations held each Friday in the Gaza Strip near the Gaza-Israel border from 30 March 2018 until 27 December 2019, in which Israeli forces killed a total of 223 Palestinians. The demonstrators demanded that the Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return to lands they were displaced from in what is now Israel. They protested against Israel's land, air and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip and the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
An Incendiary kite(also Firebomb kite, flaming kite, Fire Kite) is a kite with a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached.
An incendiary balloon is a balloon inflated with a lighter-than-air gas such as hot air, hydrogen, or helium, that has a bomb, incendiary device, or Molotov cocktail attached. The balloon is carried by the prevailing winds to the target area, where it falls or releases its payload.
The Be'eri Forest of area about 11,000 dunams is located in the western Negev, within the Eshkol Regional Council area. It was planted by the pioneers of the kibbutz Be'eri.
The Anzac Memorial is a monument in Be'eri Forest, Negev, Israel, to the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand armies who were killed in Palestine during the First Battle of Gaza and Second Battle of Gaza of World War I.
On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.
More than 100 fires were reported in June 2019 alone, with reported damage to at least 4,500 acres of farmland.
