Israel general: Target Hamas leaders not equipment

Israeli General Tal Brown has called for targeting Palestinian resistance leaders in Gaza instead of resistance sites in response to the firing of incendiary balloons into southern Israel.

“As long as the people responsible for armed activities in the Gaza Strip are not under personal threat of harm, incendiary balloons will continue to be fired in the next [tension] rounds,” Brown wrote on Israel’s Channel 7.

According to Arabi21, which translated the article, Brown said that the Israeli towns which surround the Gaza periphery had been targeted by incendiary kites and balloons for years.

Brown said that these “explosive devices” are detonated arbitrarily exposing “every Israeli” to danger and torching fields, natural reserves and crops.

“In response to these,” he said, “the Israeli army bombed every building and military site owned by Hamas every night,” noting this became a tradition and it does not cause intentional deaths.

Brown added: “This [firing balloons] is an opportunity to destroy the abilities and equipment which are currently serving the organisations and could be used against Israel in the future.”

OPINION: Israel is too weak to launch a new offensive against Palestinians in Gaza

Israel carries out airstrikes in Gaza, in response to kites – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]