Iron Dome batteries deployed throughout Israel ahead of Ramadan, Eurovision
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Defense Forces deployed Iron Dome missile defense system batteries throughout the country, as Palestinian terror groups in Gaza warned that they would “ruin Eurovision” with their attacks.
The Iron Dome batteries were deployed on Tuesday, a day after a rocket was fired at Israel from Gaza but landed in the Mediterranean Sea.
The extra security measure comes at the start of several weeks of extra activity and tension due to Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day, the Eurovision International song contest, the first anniversary of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Also on Tuesday, Palestinians in Gaza launched several arson balloons, balloons carrying incendiary devices, at southern Israel, igniting a fire outside of Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Al Akhbar newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that Palestinian terror groups in Gaza have warned that if Israel does not ease restrictions on Gaza, part of an unofficial cease-fire agreement brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, that “the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip will experience further arson, and in the near future the pressure from the Gaza Strip will increase so much so as to ruin the Eurovision Song Contest,” the Times of Israel reported.
Read More: Jewish Telegraphic Agency