Tensions on the Israel-Gaza Strip border ran high Friday, in the wake of Wednesday's rocket salvo on southern Israel and ahead of yet another Hamas-orchestrated demonstration on the security fence.
Hamas officials urged Gazans to amass at the fence in honor of those killed and wounded in the border riots campaign since it was launched on March 30. Organizers said they plan to hold memorials for the 120 Palestinians killed near the security fence over the past three months.
The Israeli military deployed additional troops near the border, including special forces, snipers and sappers and, for the first time, it plans to use cutting-edge lasers and sensors to combat the kite terrorism that has been wreaking havoc on the Gaza-vicinity communities for weeks.
The new sensors are designed to spot particularly small targets like incendiary kites and balloon, which usually evade the radar systems deployed in the area.
Once a sensor identifies a flaming object, military drones will be launched to intercept it.
The IDF's Southern Command and GOC Army Headquarters are collaborating with several defense contractors in their effort to devise a solution for kite terrorism.
Palestinian arson terrorism continued to rage Thursday, as 20 fires erupted as a result of incendiary kites and balloons sent over the border.
Authorities say that over 8,000 acres of forest and agricultural land on the Israeli side of the border have been reduced to ash over the past six weeks, causing tens of millions of shekels in damage.
With incendiary kites and balloons posing a growing threat to the safety and livelihoods of residents in Israeli communities near the border, as well as to local wildlife and vegetation, there has been a growing demand from the residents for the IDF to intensify its response against terrorist kite cells.
While some politicians and defense officials have advocated surgical strikes against such cells – a policy the IDF employs against terrorists firing rockets at Israel – the military has cautioned that targeting kite flyers, most of whom are teenagers, would lead to a rapid security escalation opposite the Gaza Strip that, in turn, is likely to lead to a full-fledged military campaign.
Also on Thursday, the Katif Center in the border-adjacent community of Nitzan dedicated an electronic memorial commemorating soldiers and civilians killed in the area.
Deputy Defense Minister Eliyahu Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) spoke at the ceremony, saying that the tensions on the border prove that the 2005 disengagement from Gaza was a mistake.
"Anyone in their right mind that looks at what is happening now can see that we made a foolish mistake. We may have thought we were promoting a new Middle East, but today we see exactly how untrue that assumption was."
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid visited the Gaza-vicinity communities Thursday and said, "It's not just the fields that are burning here, it's Israeli deterrence. Hamas has to be made to pay a price."
Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, for their part, warned Thursday that any Israeli strike on the coastal enclave will be met with rocket fire on Israel.
