The southern tip of Israel is a rocky desert where solar panels are abundant and the sun, when shining, is the source of nearly all electricity. Once it sets, however, the grid shifts back to fossil fuels to generate power.

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Renewable energy from solar and wind-powered systems cannot be stored without extra cost – a major obstacle in the world's efforts to tear itself away from polluting fuels and avoid a climate catastrophe.

But at Kibbutz Yahel – a small community not far from the Red Sea where a sweet variety of dates called Medjool is grown – residents have started using a new technology that can store solar energy cheaply and produce power well into the night.

During the day, excess energy from solar panels drives a system where water is used to condense air in underground tanks. After sundown that air is released to power a turbine and generate electricity. And the cycle repeats in the morning.

"Other kibbutzim are waiting and watching to see if this works, and certainly it could become the green energy storage solution for the area," Yossi Amiel, Yahel's business manager, said.

The system was developed by Augwind Energy, a company traded in Tel Aviv with a market cap of 1.2 billion shekels ($386 million).

Unlike above-ground platforms that work with condensed air and require significant real estate, the company says its product – a relatively thin steel tank with a special polymer lining – can be placed right at the power source and at a lower cost.

A range of techniques is being explored to store energy, like pumped-hydro systems that use gravity to generate electricity after hours, lithium-ion batteries like those in electric cars, and storing energy in chemical forms, like hydrogen.

An ideal solution has been elusive, said Gideon Friedman, acting chief scientist at the Energy Ministry. Batteries can be toxic and their cycles are limited, he said, while hydrogen is still early stage and too expensive.

Augwind's AirBattery is about 80% efficient in storing energy, a bit less than batteries, but unlike batteries, it does not degrade over time.

"It's really a matter of cost versus the competition of batteries, whether this system can compete in cost. If they can, we will see, I expect, quite a number of these. Certainly, there are a few projects already planned," Friedman said.

Augwind CEO Or Yogev said the price is on par with lithium-ion batteries, roughly $250 per kilowatt-hour, and that it will drop next year to below $200 as they roll out to more customers. The company has so far raised $60 million from institutional investors, he said.

"Over the next few years, we're going to have thousands of megawatt-hours installed using the AirBattery technology. That's our prediction," Yogev said. "Even that, when you compare that to the size of the market, it's still pretty small."

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While most of the fires were minor and posed no danger to residents of nearby communities, one of the balloon-strapped explosives landed near a playground in the Eshkol Regional Council area when children were nearby.

Another balloon reportedly landed in the vicinity of a residential house. Both explosives were neutralized without causing any casualties.

The fresh round of explosive-laden balloons come as Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi continues his talks with the Hamas terrorist group in the coastal enclave.

According to reports in the Israeli media, Wednesday's negotiations did not see any real progress toward de-escalation, but they did not go up in flames either, with the parties set to continue on Thursday.

The explosive-laden balloon attacks continued despite a two-day lockdown announced by Hamas on Monday after spotting a local cluster of COVID-19 infections.

The lockdown did not appear to deter hundreds of Gazans from attending Tuesday's funeral for four Palestinian Islamic Jihad members who reportedly died in a botched rocket launch.

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Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces hit targets in the coastal enclave in retaliation for the explosive-laden balloons launched on Wednesday.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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It was mainly Egyptian and UN mediators who were behind the efforts to restore calm, as well as the Qatari envoy to Gaza. Hamas also stressed that it was not seeking further escalation, but since Sunday, it was juggling an awkward policy: on one hand, Hamas wanted to avoid taking part in the violence because it didn't want to launch direct attacks on Israel, while on the other hand, it did nothing to restrain the PIJ.

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That posed a dilemma for Israel – what should it do about Hamas? Israel has no desire to fight the largest and strongest terrorist faction in Gaza, but by not taking action Israel veered away from its policy of striking Hamas to make it bring the other, smaller terrorist groups into line. Eventually, pragmatism won out – since no one on the Israeli side wanted to see an escalation (certainly not days before the election) – a decision was made to limit the scope of the response to the PIJ.

But even in its response to the PIJ, which was directly responsible for the latest round of violence, Israel considered its actions carefully. The attack in Damascus on Sunday night was not intended to kill Islamic Jihad members (unlike a similar attack in November, in which – according to foreign reports – Israel attempted to kill Akram Ajouri, the deputy commander of the PIJ), bu to take out infrastructure. In the many strikes it launched in the Gaza Strip, Israel did its best to prevent widespread casualties and keep the escalation in check.

At any rate, the PIJ launched most of its rockets from ditches, using timers, so it was impossible to attack the terrorists in real time. This time, too, the upper echelon of the PIJ went underground for fear of their lives, as did many top Hamas commanders. So Israel focused its strikes on sites where weapons were manufactured as well as other strategic locations for the PIJ.

The PIJ was also careful to keep the fighting in check. It aimed its rockets at western Negev communities and nearby towns, and avoided more distant cities such as Beersheba or Ashdod – and especially steered clear of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, even though it has demonstrated that it is capable of reaching Israel's biggest coastal population enclave. The PIJ's restraint shows that the organization wanted to keep the flames low in the latest round of fighting and avoid the risk of losing control or a massive Israeli response.

Like always, Israel's air defenses provided its citizens in the south with strong protection, intercepting 90% of the rockets fired. That number is somewhat lower than the interception rate during Operation Black Belt, which followed the death of PIJ leader Baha Abu al-Ata in November 2019 (which saw a 94% interception rate), but it's still impressive. Israel has time to plan its responses in advance, rather than operating under the stress of high numbers of wounded civilians in the western Negev.

On Monday, Israel realized that the PIJ wanted to bring the violence to a close. It started when Israel targeted a terrorist cell that was placing a bomb near the border fence. That incident turned into violent clashes, during which Israel removed the body of one of the dead terrorists – an action that was seen as a humiliation for the terrorist factions in Gaza, prompting them to respond. It is also likely that the PIJ's desire for a ceasefire was helped by Israel's decision to shut down all border crossings and the Gazans' fishing zone.

But even if a ceasefire has been reached, it will most likely prove tenuous. Hamas wants a broader deal, but the PIJ – which has its own independent and anarchistic policies, backed by Iran – will keep throwing wrenches in the works. It's doubtful Israel can continue to ignore that for much longer and allow the organization to keep dictating the terms of life for residents of southern Israel.

After the elections, Israel will have to decide on a policy and make it clear to Hamas (and through Hamas, to the other terrorist groups in Gaza) that the games are over, and if they won't agree to a long-term ceasefire and deal, Israel will have to go all the way and secure them through force.

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At the end of the meeting, Netanyahu said, "We held a cabinet meeting at the Gaza Division with the division commander and the GOC Southern Command. Our policy is clear – we want to restore calm, but at the same time, we are preparing for a large scale military operation if necessary. These were my instructions to the army."

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"At the same time, I met with heads of local authorities near Gaza and Ashkelon. I discussed what steps must be taken and they gave instructions about how we could help them. I'm sorry that a few local authority heads who always say no one listens to them got up and left when we came to listen, but we will do what is necessary for everyone," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister also touched on this week's protests against police violence toward members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community, and said the Ethiopians were "dear to us."

"I say this … as the person who heads the ministerial committee on how to address the problems in that community. We will discuss all the issues, but we will also discuss something that is unacceptable – we will not accept or suffer roads being blocked and violence, including Molotov cocktails, being perpetrated against our [security] forces – or cars being set on fire or any other property being burned. We are a law-abiding nation and we demand that everyone obey the law," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said that discussions were being held about police brutality and ways of changing how Ethiopian-Israelis are treated. However, he said, one thing was certain – that blocking roads and violence were not the way to address the issue.

After the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with leaders of Gaza-adjacent communities. Gadi Yarkoni, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, and Ofir Libstein, head of the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, declined to attend the meeting.

"We were surprised to discover that 20 heads of local authorities from southern Israel had been invited to meet with the prime minister, and that he had no intention of holding a meeting devoted to the Gaza periphery, as we expected and as should have been held at a time like this, and which we asked for," Yarkoni and Libstein said.

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Chairman of the RCA Eran Siv explained Monday that buildings in the south of the country are inherently more vulnerable than buildings in central Israel.

"Most of the homes in the [southern] area have tiled roofs, so the damage in the case of a direct hit, or even a rocket falling nearby, is much bigger than to a building that has a concrete roof," Siv told Israel Hayom.

"A tile roof doesn't prevent or stop a rocket from entering, so the damage caused to the structure and the inside of an apartment is much greater," he explained.

The recent round of violence saw about 35 rockets and mortars land in populated areas. In some cases, the strikes caused massive damage to the surrounding buildings.

According to Siv, renovations assessed at 43,000 shekels or less can be completed by any contractor, whereas more expensive repairs require property owners to hire a contractor registered with the Construction and Housing Ministry. In cases where a rocket strike caused a fire, the renovation is more costly.

Siv laid out the options for property owners whose assets were damaged by the violence: "The first step is for a property tax adjuster to assess the damage. Then, it is repaired. In cases of relatively minor damage, the owner can hire a contractor and then file a request for reimbursement with the property tax authorities, but for large-scale work, the construction companies do all the work without 'civilians' having to lay out a penny."

Siv also argues that the government must allow any property owner whose home was damaged in the attacks to rebuild to a higher safety standard and that the government must shoulder all the costs.

"I'm calling on the prime minister and the cabinet to consider the families' difficult situation and allow them to go back to a stronger, better-defended home and not have to make do with an approval for the minimum renovation necessary to restore the building to its former state," he said.

As of Monday afternoon, the Israel Tax Authority – whose property tax division handles requests for compensation for damage caused by war – had received 291 requests to cover the cost of repairs to buildings in southern Israel. The largest number of requests were for buildings in Ashkelon (142), followed by Ashdod (79), Sderot (24) and Kiryat Gat (20).

In addition, 137 requests were filed for compensation for damages to vehicles and seven requests were filed for compensation for damage to farm crops. The ITA approved 70% of the requests for compensation and expects the total number of requests to reach 600.

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