Several fires broke out along the Gaza border on Sunday afternoon amid ongoing violent riots and launches of incendiary balloons, according to Israeli media.
An additional battalion will be sent to reinforce the Gaza area, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said, following a visit by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and continued arson attacks from the terrorist enclave.
Gallant said that he had arrived in the Gaza periphery to receive a situation assessment from field commanders, after which he held a briefing with the IDF Chief of Staff, head of Aman military intelligence, and head of the Operations Directorate.
"The IDF and its soldiers, along with the entire security establishment, are standing guard - in the air, at sea and on land," Gallant wrote on social media.
Three fires started in the Gaza periphery
The KKL-Jewish National Fund said that three fires were started in the Gaza periphery just after noon, two in the Be'eri forest and one in Kissufim. Emergency teams reportedly quickly took control of the fires. At least two of the fires were started by incendiary balloons, emergency services said.
Three fires were started in southern Israel by Gazan incendiary balloons on Friday, but were put out hours later by firefighters.Fire breaks out in the Kissufim forest on the Gaza border. This is suspected to be the result of an incendiary balloon sent from Gaza (CREDIT: KKL-JNF).
Palestinian media reported that a young Gazan was reportedly injured by IDF fire during clashes that broke out in the eastern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Other Palestinian reports said that young Gazans gathered near the border fence and began rioting.
Recent tensions on the Gaza border
In response to the arson and shooting attacks against troops along the border, Israeli forces on Friday and Saturday struck Hamas military positions associated with the terrorist operations. One Hamas post was hit on Saturday night by an unmanned aerial vehicle, and another two were taken out by drone strike on Friday. Another post was destroyed by a tank fire on Friday.
Hundreds of Gazans have been rioting along the border for ten days, with some of the participants throwing explosive devices and shooting at IDF troops. Gunmen have been killed in return fire by Israeli forces.
Before this weekend, the last time incendiary balloons caused a fire in the Gaza border region was in September 2021.
This is a developing story. Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.