Smoke rises from Israeli agricultural fields near the Gaza Strip border, after being set on fire by a molotov cocktail kite flown over by Palestinians as they protest by the border fence on May 14, 2018. Photo: Flash90.

JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces targeted a leader in the Gaza campaign to fly incendiary balloons and kites into Israel, according to a statement.

“In recent days, the IDF warned and carried out several attacks near the cells responsible for the arson and destruction of lands in Israel. These are terror attacks that endanger the residents of southern Israel,” the IDF said.

Information about the targeted person or whether they were injured was not made available.

According to the Palestinian Shehab news agency, the airstrike hit an empty vehicle outside a mosque in Shejaiya early Sunday morning.

On Saturday, the IDF fired at a group of Palestinians launching the flammable kites and balloons, wounding three terrorists.

The new low-budget terror weapons caused at least 20 separate fires along the Israeli border with Gaza on Saturday. No injuries were reported in the Saturday attacks, though crops were damaged. One fire started in the Kissufim area came close to an IDF base, but was put out by firefighters and security coordinators just before setting fire to the site.

The damage was part of a weeks-long series of Palestinian attacks, which have burned hundreds of acres of agricultural, forest and protected lands.

Authorities have been mulling methods of response and have taken in recent days to firing warning shots at groups launching the flaming kites and balloons. The army has signaled its willingness to escalate the severity of its response.