Israel is warning Hamas that it will "pay a
heavy price" if their aggression along the
Gaza border continues.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told
residents of Gaza border towns that Israel
is prepared for a "lengthy battle" with
Hamas.
"It is important that Hamas will understand
it is facing a wall of steel, and this wall
consists, first of all, of a determined
government with strong local leadership
and Zionist communities that we will
continue to strengthen and, of course, the
IDF (Israel Defense Forces)," Netanyahu told
Israeli residents on Monday.
Despite agreeing to a cease-fire,
Palestinians launched fresh attacks with
kites and balloons loaded with flammable
material aimed at Israel, setting fires to
farmlands and forests.
Israel's military is urging Gazans to speak
out against such terror tactics.
"We ask every merchant and every citizen
who is interested in calm and wants to see
the goods enter (Gaza), turn to the Hamas
terrorist organization and demand that they
stop their terror activities such as
firebombs and incendiary balloons," Lt. Col.
Iyad Sarhan, an IDF spokesperson said in a
video message to residents of the Gaza
Strip.
Since April, these airborne arson attacks
have sparked more than 750 fires
throughout southern Israel destroying
thousands of acres of farmland. In response
to the continued fire attacks, Israel on
Tuesday put a tighter clamp on the number
of goods, including fuel, passing through its
border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
"The heavy price you are paying is the
result of the balloon terrorism and
incendiary kites, which we consider to be
terrorism in the full sense of the word and
therefore the response will be more
difficult," Sarhan said.
In predictable fashion, Hamas, which runs
the Gaza Strip, called Israel's fuel blockade
a "war crime," saying in a statement : "The
decision by the Israeli occupier to close the
crossing is in opposition to the basic needs
of human life, and nothing less than a
crime against humanity."
For months, Netanyahu's government has
been under pressure to stop the fire kites
and incendiary balloons from causing
further damage to crops and nature
reserves.
While Israel says it has no interest in
another war with Hamas, the prime minister
said late Tuesday that the "military is
prepared for any scenario" and will no
longer tolerate the flying arson attacks.
"As long as terror continues with the
launching of the balloons, the IDF will not
sit idly by, will not be silent about the
situation, and will respond strongly to the
continued firing of balloons and other
terrorist acts that are burning the southern
region," Lt. Col. Sarhan warned Gazans.
In early June, CBN News visited the
southern Israeli community of Kibbutz Nir
Am, less than a mile from Israel's border
with Gaza to see the damage caused by the
fires firsthand.

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