"Our policy is clear – if anyone attacks us, we will deal them a forceful counterattack. I hope that they [Hamas] got the message. If not, they will in the future," Netanyahu told the cabinet, referring to the pounding the military dealt Hamas over the weekend as Gaza terrorists fired 200 rockets at Israeli border towns.

"I've heard people say that Israel agreed to a cease-fire that will allow arson terrorism using balloons and kites to continue. That's not true. We are not willing to accept any attack on us, and we will respond accordingly," the prime minister said.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in the meeting that Israel had no intention of tolerating rockets, incendiary kites, or any other form of arson terrorism from the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas has been dealt a serious blow. The rockets that landed in Israeli territory, as well as the alerts and people running to shelters, are an unacceptable reality, and we do not intend to resign ourselves to it. I hope that Hamas will draw the right conclusions," Lieberman said.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz said that Lieberman needed to present the cabinet with a clear proposal for a policy on Gaza terrorism that entailed either toppling Hamas' regime and eradicating terrorism entirely, or renouncing any responsibility to the civilian population of Gaza and erecting a border wall with full deterrent capabilities.

"Letting the current situation continue is not an option. It's not fair to the residents of Gaza-adjacent communities and harms the security of the state," Katz said in the same meeting.

Earlier Sunday, Katz told Channel 12 that ‎Israel's retaliatory attacks against Hamas infrastructure in Gaza should not be seen as the start of an operation like Protective Edge.

"We are not in a [military] operation. The activity ‎we are engaged in now sends a message that Israel ‎will not tolerate rockets, explosive devices, mortar ‎shells or [incendiary] kites," he said.

Habayit Hayehudit leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett took an aggressive line following the weekend's escalation in Gaza, saying that Israel must adopt aggressive tactics against Hamas and not ignore its attacks.

Bennet told Walla News that he and his party member Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked planned to object to any proposed cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would allow Hamas to keep sending airborne incendiary devices over the Gaza border fence to spark fires on Israeli land.

"I said so a hundred days ago. I promised to eliminate the cells that release them. I said that if we take out two or three cells at the beginning, it will put an end to the matter and if we don't, ignoring it will lead to escalation. That's what happened," Bennett said.

Bennett said that after a hundred days of fires caused by Hamas' incendiary kites and balloons, he objected on principle to allowing the terrorist group to dictate the terms of a cease-fire.

Over 9,000 acres of fields, wooded area, and nature reserves have gone up in flames as a result of Palestinian arson terrorism Gaza, causing millions of dollars in direct damage, according to the Israel Tax Authority.

Bennett accused Lieberman of ignoring the latest terrorist tactic from Gaza, whereas he wanted to defeat it.

"I've been in the south [of Israel] a lot. I see what they're telling us – that they have the patience, we just need to do the work. I think this is the minimum we owe to the residents of Gaza-adjacent communities," Bennett told Walla.

Former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, a resident of Sderot, said on Army Radio that Israel would not, under any circumstances, find itself in a situation in which Israeli troops were forced to fire on children who are releasing burning kites over the border – "even if we see that they are being handled by terrorists."

Labor party leader Avi Gabbay aimed a personal barb at Netanyahu on Sunday for "sitting in his nice living room instead of visiting the residents of southern Israel."

"He [Netanyahu] hasn't been in Sderot since April 9. That's unthinkable – a hundred days they [terrorists] have been burning everything in sight, and the prime minister doesn't show up? He's lost his connection to the public," Gabbay said on Army Radio.

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Army Radio on Sunday that as long as terrorism was still present, Israel would "step up" its strikes.

Hanegbi said that as long as Hamas remained in control of the Gaza Strip, he did not foresee any chance of a peace deal.

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Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers, assisted by ‎firefighting aircraft, battled the blazes, which ‎were fueled by the heavy heat and strong wind ‎conditions. Several roads in the area were ‎temporarily blocked as fires threatened them as ‎well. ‎

On Sunday, an Israeli aircraft struck the vehicle of one of the ‎ringleaders of the kite terrorism campaign, in the ‎Shujaiyya neighborhood in Gaza. ‎No one was wounded in the strike but it marked an escalation in Israel's response to kite terrorism.

One of the balloons launched over the border on Saturday ‎was found to be carrying explosives. Police sappers ‎neutralized the device safely. ‎

In response, the IDF struck a terrorist cell gearing ‎up to launch additional explosive kites over the ‎border, as well as a Hamas observation post in ‎northern Gaza. ‎

On Friday, the military fired warning shots at ‎terrorist cells trying to send incendiary kites and ‎balloons over the Israeli border. ‎

The Palestinians reported that two men were wounded ‎in an IDF strike on a kite cell in the al-Bureij ‎refugee camp in central Gaza.‎

‎"The IDF is determined to counter the Palestinians' ‎acts of terror," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement, adding that regardless of which terrorist organization instigates the attacks, "Hamas will be held accountable for ‎anything that transpires in the Gaza Strip."

Military officials warned last week that if ‎the Palestinian kite ‎terrorism continues, the ‎IDF will launch ‎surgical strikes to eliminate these ‎terrorist cells ‎‎– a policy currently used ‎against cells that ‎fire rockets at Israel. ‎

However, senior IDF officers expressed concern that ‎surgical strikes against kite terrorist cells could set off a rapid security escalation that could lead ‎to another round of fighting in Gaza.‎ ‎

The IDF is mostly employing drone technology to ‎combat kite terrorism, but local residents say the drones are ineffective in alleviating the damage caused by the ‎fires.

Authorities say that over 7,500 acres of forest and ‎‎‎agricultural ‎land on ‎the Israeli side of the border ‎‎‎have been reduced ‎to ash since the Palestinians ‎‎‎launched the "kite campaign" in late April, causing ‎‎‎tens of millions of ‎shekels in ‎damage and affecting ‎‎‎‎every community in the area. ‎

The Israel Nature ‎and Parks Authority ‎says the impact on ‎local flora and fauna has been devastating, as local habitats have lost over ‎‎3,500 acres to fires, ‎including one-third of the Karmiya Nature Reserve, a part of the Be'eri Forest and ‎all of the Nir Am Nature Reserve.‎

INPA official Uri Naveh said the environmental damage ‎caused to the area was nothing short of ‎catastrophic. ‎

‎"The western Negev area is the natural habitat for ‎rare species of plants and many species of reptiles, ‎which have sustained catastrophic damage that will take ‎decades to repair," Naveh said. ‎"Moreover, if the fires are a recurring event, the ‎habitat may change completely. Nature knows how to ‎deal with a large fire every 10 years or so, but if it ‎happens every year or in short intervals, without ‎the habitat having time to recover, it changes so dramatically that it becomes something else." ‎

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The incendiary kites caused blazes in several locations near Kibbutz Be'eri and Kibbutz Kissufim in southern Israel. A large contingent of firefighters was deployed to the area.

The IDF is exploring more intensive measures to combat the threat, Kan Public Broadcasting reported Thursday. Among the measures being considered is the deployment of multi-rotor drones to intercept the kites before they cross into Israel. The army is also weighing the option of shooting at those who launch the kites, according to the report.

Kibbutz Kissufim spokesman Benny Hasson told Israel Hayom that the incendiary kite phenomenon must be stopped.

"There was a huge fire next to the kibbutz, which erupted in two separate spots. The whole kibbutz was covered in smoke," said.

"The arson is disrupting the residents' daily lives, and the wave of fires caused by the incendiary kites is causing a great deal of damage to our fields. We thank the firefighters for the job they are doing day and night, and everyone else who is involved in making sure the fires don't spread into the communities themselves."

About 86 acres of grain fields have been burned in the fires, at a cost of nearly NIS 175,000 ($48,000). Over the past three weeks, dozens of fires have been sparked by the firebomb kites in wooded areas and on agricultural land near the border.

Gadi Yarkoni, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, where numerous fires have been sparked, said, "There is damage to wheat and barley fields ahead of harvest season, and to a natural grove in the area. Firefighters and farmers are working overtime to put the fires out before they inflict even heavier damage, and we expect compensation from the state.

"The kite terrorism won't break us; we will continue working the fields to the last inch. Our fields are our livelihood and the beating heart of the Eshkol Regional Council."

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Incendiary kites are the latest terrorist measure used by Palestinians rioting near the security fence to harass Israeli troops and the residents of the Israeli border-adjacent communities.

Dozens of fires have been sparked over the past three weeks in wooded areas and on agricultural land near the border as a result of kites fitted with crude incendiary devices.

The IDF, Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Jewish National Fund foresters and local farmers are making every effort to combat this phenomenon together, but hundreds of acres have already been lost to terrorist fires.

Three of these flying firebombs set a massive fire in the forest bordering Kibbutz Be'eri, 3 miles from Gaza. Wednesday's blaze was the largest fire since the terrorist "kite campaign" began.

Ten firefighting teams battled the flames that, fueled by high temperatures, dry weather conditions and strong winds, raged for more than three hours, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services' Southern District said.

Firefighters finally extinguished the blaze at around 8 p.m., but not before it reduced dozens of acres of woodland into ash.

Several smaller fires erupted in agricultural fields in several Israeli communities near the border, devouring acres of crops before farmers were able to extinguish them.

No injuries were reported in any of the fires.

Sdot Negev Regional Council head Tamir Idan warned that kite terrorism was becoming a trend and demanded that the military devise ways to counter the threat.

"This kind of terrorism is life-threatening," he said. "We are not taking it lightly. We understand that it's very problematic and that there's no way to eliminate it completely, but the IDF is trying all sorts of things and I hope they find a solution."

Idan, along with Shai Hajaj, head of the Merhavim Regional Council, leveled criticism at Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups that recently appealed to the High Court of Justice, asking to restrict the Israeli response rioting on the Gaza border.

At least 45 Palestinians have been killed and thousands have been wounded since the weekly protests near the security fence, orchestrated by the Hamas terrorist group, began on March 30.

The Palestinians have accused the Israeli military of using excessive force against "unarmed, peaceful protesters," but the IDF maintains that for the most part, it uses standard crowd control measures, resorting to live fire only to neutralize terrorist attempts to breach the fence, plant explosives on the border, or carry out terrorist attacks under the cover of the demonstrations.

"While the High Court in Jerusalem hears petitions seeking to curb the measures used by Israeli soldiers in the face of Gaza rioters trying to breach the security fence, they [rioters] keep setting agricultural lands on fire," Idan and Hajaj said in a joint statement.

"These human rights groups and the judges would be wise to remember that hurling rocks and torching fields are acts of violence. This type of violence causes immeasurable financial damage but also threatens human lives," the statement said.

"The use of incendiary kites to set fields on fire is no longer limited to Palestinians rioting near the border on Friday. It has become a daily occurrence. We demand that the IDF put a stop to it," the statement concluded.

Avigdor Kalifah, the agricultural director for the Negev communities, said that over 85 acres of crops have been destroyed so far, causing farmers significant financial damage.

"Just as agricultural terrorism has been gaining attention, I hope kite terrorism will also become part of the public agenda," he said.

He called the Palestinians' kite terrorism "torture," saying, "If they want to burn the fields, they may as well set them all on fire at once."

Meanwhile, the success of kite terrorism has apparently inspired the Palestinians to find a better way to set fires even farther from the border.

Images posted on social media Wednesday showed Palestinians arming large helium-filled balloons with incendiary materials.

One of the posts noted that unlike kites, incendiary balloons do not need a handler to steer them in the right direction and can be launched from anywhere in the Strip, and they can also remain airborne for a longer period of time and therefore travel further into Israel.

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