Israel again reduces Gaza fishing zone to 10 miles after arson balloons
Israeli authorities are set to scale Gaza’s authorized fishing zone back to 10 nautical miles on Wednesday morning, the local Fishermen’s Committees said in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.
COGAT, the defense ministry unit responsible for the relationship with the Palestinians, confirmed the move on Wednesday morning.
“This decision was taken after the launching of incendiary balloons in the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory,” a statement read.
This comes less than three days after the zone was extended to 15 miles, its widest zone in years, and further defines a pattern that sees the area shrunk or expended depending on the launches of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip.
Militant units in Gaza have resumed sending so-called ‘bouquets’ of balloons tied to incendiary devices into Israeli territory. Israel has been dealing with major fires in the past week, most incidental, due to dry and hot weather, which increases the risks of criminal fires spreading to large areas.
Read More: i24news