Burning kites from Gaza damage Israeli farms, wildlife
KIBBUTZ NIR AM, Israel — After years of rocket attacks and militant infiltrations from Gaza, residents of southern Israel are now coping with a new kind of threat: incendiary kites and balloons that have damaged farmlands and nature reserves.
The crude devices launched by Palestinians inside the blockaded territory have not been lethal. But they have sparked fires that have damaged agriculture, killed wildlife and whipped up considerable indignation.
“It’s caused significant economic damage but more than that it is emotional,” said Itzik Ebbo, 78, a member of Kibbutz Nir Am, a collective farming community. “These are crops we poured our hearts into. These are fields we hiked with our children and grandchildren.”
Sullen locals have become a fixture on Israeli TV, guiding reporters around smouldering fields and lamenting the loss of life among snakes, turtles and the like.