Qatar’s envoy is set to enter the enclave on Tuesday to deliver another installment of relief funds amid a substantial increase in attacks involving explosives attached to airborne devices being sent from the Strip to Israel

Gaza militants launch explosive balloons into Israel
Gaza militants launch explosive balloons into Israel

Qatari deputy envoy, Khaled al-Hardan, will enter the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in order to deliver another installment of relief funds to impoverished families in the enclave, the Gulf state’s officials have confirmed. The announcement comes just hours after yet another explosive device attached to a cluster of balloons sent from Gaza, landed in southern Israel.

In addition, a bundle of balloons with an attached explosive was found on Monday afternoon in the city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. It’s unclear how the balloons made their way to the area but it is unlikely they had been sent from the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Hours later, a suspicious cluster of balloons landed in the southern city of Sderot. Police sappers were called to the scene.

During the last few days there has been a substantial increase in the number of explosive balloons being launched from Gaza into southern Israeli cities located near the border.

On Friday, a cluster of suspicious balloons were caught on camera flying over one of the main streets in the city of Ashdod, located more than 40km (25 miles) from the Gaza border.

 בלון חבלה עף מעל חלק מרכזי בעיר אשדוד
Suspicious balloons flying over Ashdod (Photo: Itamar Ben Shimol)

 

On Thursday, security forces were called to one of the communities located in the Sdot Negev Regional Council that borders the Strip, after an incendiary device exploded in the vicinity of civilian population. There were no casualties reported in the incident.

בלוני נפץ בשדרות
Incendiary balloons in Sderot (Photo: Police Spokesperson Unit)

 

The Israel Police said that due to the recent increase in attempted attacks on the Israeli population via airborne devices, vigilance is required now more than ever. “In case a suspicious object is located in your area, the first thing to do is to call the police,’ said the official statement.

“No one should touch the suspicious object. Any and all handling of the object will be done solely by a police sapper.”

As reported by Ynetnews