The Be'eri Crater Reserve adjacent to the Gaza border is considered to be among the most picturesque tourist sites in the region, with its green landscape serving as a natural habitat for a variety of species of animals.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



During the winter, the nature reserve was covered by a blanket of multiple shades of green, interspersed with red roses in what was a symbolic testament to the success of making a desert bloom.

Drone footage of Be'eri Crater Reserve (צילום: Droneimagebank )

X

In recent weeks, however, the greenery has been replaced by a blackened and charred landmass caused by incendiary kites flown over by Palestinian rioters from the Gaza Strip, whose latest weapon in their arsenal is wreaking havoc on southern residents and farmers.

On Sunday alone, 200 more dunams were incinerated by the kites which are affixed with Molotov Cocktails.

Since the kites were first used in April as part of what Gazans describe as the “March of Return” protests, the "aerial terror offensive" against the Israeli border communities has continued with greater vigor, including some 300 incendiary kites flown into Israel's territory, causing 100 fires and decimating more than 3,000 acres of wheatfields.

In addition, millions of shekels worth of damage has been caused to the farmers of the area.

Be'eri Crater Reserve in the winter (Photo: Yaakov Skolnick, KKL Archive )

With the new primitive but effective tactic employed by Gaza’s residents, Israeli firefighting services and security forces from surrounding communities are called to the area at least three times a week to extinguish the blazes intended to ravage southern agriculture.

In a video obtained by Ynet, the scorched remains of the once-blooming Be'eri Crater greenland—70% of which has been consumed by the flames—can be seen more clearly from a birds-eye view.

Experts believe that the blazes have taken a significant toll on wildlife in the area, which could once hide between the grooves and rocks in the expanses, but have no refuge from the flames sweeping through.

Indeed, estimates say that thousands of lives of animals have been claimed, among them reptiles and turtles, which either burned to death or were suffocated.

“It is clear to us that that time do its work, the rain will return and the blooming with be renewed,” an optimistic Rafi Babiyan said, a security officer from the Sdot Negev Regional Council.

“At the same time, to see the reserve burnt to such an extent, and to think that animals have been burned breaks one's heart,” he added.

“The crater lies between Kibbutz Alumim and Kibbutz Be'eri and all the residents are working to save it every time a fire breaks out. Residents from all the communities join the effort to stop fires from spreading, but the damage has already been done,” he continued.

In light of the recent spate of incendiary “Kite Terror” attacks from Gaza plaguing their fields, Israeli farmers from the region announced Sunday that they intend to sue the Hamas leadership for war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.