Israel Reduces Gaza Fishing Zone Over Arson Balloons

Israel reduced the permitted fishing zone in the Gaza Strip from 10 nautical miles to six nautical miles on Tuesday in response to incendiary balloons emanating from Gaza.

The Times of Israel reports that incendiary balloons have ignited several fires throughout southern Israel over the past couple of days, including the Kissufim Forest and the Eshkol region. Seven fires have occurred on Tuesday alone. There are no reported injuries from the fires.

Consequently, the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit announced the decision to shrink the fishing zone.

“In light of the fires and the launching of incendiary balloons toward Israeli territory, this evening the permitted fishing zone for the Gaza Strip has been reduced to six nautical miles until further notice,” the unit said in a statement.

The Israeli government had extended the fishing zone to 15 nautical miles on June 4 as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The zone was reduced down to 10 miles the following day as a result of the incendiary balloons.

Over the past year, Palestinians in Gaza have been bombarding southern Israelis with fiery kites and balloons, ravishing Israeli land and instilling fear into the hearts of Israeli residents along the Israel-Gaza border.

“These balloons, that are the symbol of hope and childhood and celebration and happiness, became the symbol of hell, the symbol of fear,” Israeli mother Michal Uziyahu said during an August event at Stephen Wise Temple. “When our children see balloons today, they behave like it is a suspicious object.”