The IDF divulged Sunday evening some of the methods adopted by Hamas's to damage the Gaza Strip border fence as part of the " March of Return " protests held in the past few weeks, providing supposed proof that the demonstrations and attempted border crossings stem from Hamas planning, rather than legitimate civil protests.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The photos and videos disseminated by the IDF show a drone's-eye view of posts comprised of sandbag placed by Hamas in flashpoint zones, flanked by clusters of burning tires intended to create thick plumes of smoke, enabling protesters to approach the fence under their cover.

The IDF's drone footage of Hamas's methods (צילום: דובר צה"ל)

X

The footage also offers a glimpse into how protesters who damaged the fence walked away with parts they dismantled and flew incendiary kites into the sky in an effort to torch agricultural land on the Israeli side of the border.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Footage also shows a forward group of Hamas operatives detaching from protesters and scoping out Israeli territory from an observation post, while deciding what to do next.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Some member of the same group are later seen crawling towards the fence, damaging security infrastructures by setting fire to a tire and then calling on the masses to join them in damaging the fence under the smoke's cover.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

The distance from the protest's hub to an Israeli community—namely the Kerem Shalom kibbutz—is shown to be merely 400 meters in one instance.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Agriculture sustains heavy damages due to incendiary kites

The barrage of incendiary kites on flown onto Israeli communities on the strip's perimeter is growing stronger, with three separate such incidents reported on Sunday alone.

Fire rages in field torched by incendiary kite

X

The first kite was flowm onto a field in the region of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, where dozens of acres of wheat were torched as a result. A second fire then broke out in the Kissufim Forest in the Eshkol Regional Council, where multiple firefighting team tried to put out the blaze along with civil security personnel from nearby communities.

A wheat field torched by a Hamas incendiary kite Sunday

A third conflagration took place later at a wheat field in the Eshkol Regional Council. While farmers were eventually able to extinguish the flames, they were forced to destroy some crops to prevent it from spreading.

Since the kite attacks began five weeks ago, hundreds of burning kites have been flown into Israeli territory, leaving damages worth tens of thousands of shekels in their wake.

Reuven Nir, who oversees agricultural crops for the Kfar Aza and Mefalsim kibbutzim on the Gaza perimeter, lamented that farmers residing in the vicinity are unable to handle the kite attacks.

Fires have caused tens of thousands of shekels in damages

"At first we went into the fields on our own, took out the kites and put out the fire to prevent it from spreading, but now the phenomenon has become huge. Hundreds of acres of wheat were torched this year," he said.

"We remain vigilant and the moment we see a kite, we race to the field to stop the fire before it burns more and more land," he added. "We have learned from experience here in the Gaza perimeter. We have been through it all. Rockets, tunnels, military operations, protests, you name it. But this is unbearable."