Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Wednesday that if Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip continue escalating rocket fire and the use of airborne incendiary devices against Israel he will order the IDF to take broad action in the Palestinian enclave before the March 2 general elections.
According to Channel 13 News, Netanyahu's remarks were made during a meeting with the heads of the Israeli communities near the Gaza border, which came at their request after a week of a steady increase of hostilities with Gaza.
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In a particularly alarming incident on Wednesday, balloons carrying an explosive device were intercepted over a kindergarten in the Kiryat Gat area.
Responding to the increased tensions, the IDF announced it was cutting Gaza's fishing zone from 15 to 6 nautical miles off the enclave's coast.
The West Bank was also restive Wednesday, with a Palestinian rioter shot dead in Hebron after hurling a petrol bomb at the IDF troops.
This was the first fatality in the West Bank riots that erupted after last Tuesday's reveal of the Trump Middle East peace plan.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel struck Hamas targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire toward Israeli communities the previous night.
The fresh Israeli-Palestinian violence comes days after President Donald Trump unveiled his much-anticipated peace plan, which was seen to largely favor Israeli positions and sparked calls in Israel for the annexation of land the Palestinians want as part of a future state.
