Israel carried out strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday in an attempt to curb the organization's recent spate of arson attacks on southern Israeli communities through explosives devices attached to balloons.
On Tuesday, Hamas arson balloons floated over the border fence caused some 60 separate fires in western Negev communities. Firefighters and JNF personnel, as well as Israel Nature and Parks Authority workers and volunteers battled to keep the destruction to a minimum.
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The IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported that fighter jets, helicopters, and tanks had attacked a number of Hamas targets in Gaza.
"The IDF views any terrorist activity aimed at Israel seriously and will continue to do whatever is necessary in the face of attempts to harm the citizens of Israel," a statement from the spokesperson read.
"The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible for what happens in Gaza and what comes out of it, and will bear the ramifications for terrorist acts against Israelis," the statement continued.
Head of the Eshkol Regional Council Gadi Yarkoni said Tuesday in response to the latest series of arson attacks from across the Gaza border that "we are deep into an escalation of arson balloon attacks that are burning our fields.
"Thanks to the wonderful, devoted security people in the council's security branch, who work with the IDF and the Fire and Rescue Services, the INPA, and the JNF, we are luckily managing to get a handle on the fires quickly and prevent them from spreading and causing agricultural damage," Yarkoni said.
Yarkoni said that a solution to the security tensions between Israel and Gaza must come from the leadership.
"The repeated escalations are the result of an ongoing impasse in peace talks with Gaza, and the residents of the western Negev are the first ones to pay the price. Just like I get up every morning and remind myself that before anything else, I am here to serve my residents, I expect the cabinet ministers to remember their obligation to the security of the citizens who live near the border," Yarkoni said.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum on Tuesday commented on the closure of the Kerem Shalom border crossing after the latest spate of arson attacks, calling the decision "an aggressive step, for which Israel will pay."
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