After hours: Control over the fire in the Gaza envelope has been achieved

Firefighting and rescue teams in Israel announced this evening (Thursday) that control has been gained over the fire that broke out in the Be'eri forest near the Gaza periphery. This comes after about two and a half hours of activity on-site, along with volunteer teams and the IDF Home Front Command.

Despite reports of suspected deliberate arson, a fire investigator who examined the scene concluded that "based on the existing findings on the ground, it cannot be definitively determined that this is a fire that broke out due to an incendiary balloon."

As mentioned, this is the second consecutive day in which fires have been reported in the Be'eri Forest in the Eshkol Regional Council. Yesterday, two fires were recorded in the forest following the launching of incendiary balloons. The fires last night occurred in parallel to disturbances along the Gaza border, where rioters burned tires and even detonated two explosive devices in the Gaza Strip territory.

However, this morning, it was decided to reopen the Erez Crossing and allow the exit of laborers from the Gaza Strip for the first time in about two weeks. In Gaza they claimed that the violations of the order were stopped following the opening of the crossing, as were the other operations - including the launching of incendiary balloons.