'Eventually our luck will end': Israel on the brink of war with Hamas as Gaza ignites

ISRAEL and Hamas were last night in their most serious fighting in Gaza since the war broke out.

Palestinian gunmen reportedly killed an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border yesterday (Friday), prompting Israel to respond to air strikes which killed at least three Hamas fighters

A fourth Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli troops on demonstrations at the border.

Israel's military would Israeli soldiers did not kill the dead, but it was confirmed that he was killed by the Israeli army.

The military would give no details about the attack but a spokesman

Hamas fired three rockets into Israel later in the evening, according to the Israeli military. Two of the rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

"Those who want to provoke Palestinians and" Israelis into another war must not succeed, "said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We've had a lot of miracles in the last days but finally our luck will end,

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli minister, warned that the "gloves are coming off" . "The situation is that Hamas has repeatedly," Mr. Hanegbi said.

The escalation comes after growing tensions in Gaza as Palestinians mounted large, and often violent, demonstrations and Israeli forces (19659002) Around 140 Palestinians have been killed since late March.

In recent weeks, Palestinians have shifted their focus to sending kites and helium balloons to the Israeli border fence and to the farmland beyond

The kites and balloons have begun more than a thousand fires and torched more than 7,000 acres of fields, according to Israel's military

. But after weeks of unrelenting fires, and growing political pressure from Israelis living near the border, the government has now declared the balloons to be an unbearable provocation that must be firmly.

into Gaza.

"We are counting on our generators. If no gas is allowed in Gaza will stop, "said Naael al-Ghazali, a 44-year-old restaurant owner in Gaza City. Human rights groups have called the closures "collective punishment."

Israeli forces have targeted young men and women in the Gaza Strip. The world of the most sophisticated drones and warplanes fired towards people inflating condoms or white "I love you" balloons.

Communities like Nahal Oz, an Israeli kibbutz a mile from Gaza, have been living on high alert demonstrations along the fence began in late March.

Residents have worried about Palestinians on the shores of the sea and the world.

But the fire kites and balloons, which have come close to every day for more than 100 days

The kibbutz managed to keep the fish growing in the water.

The kibbutz managed to keep The wheat patch is safe from fires for weeks but just before the ceremony is a kite drifted over and set it aflame. Had the kite arrived a few minutes later,

"We've had a lot of miracles in the last week of our life. Said Nadav Peretz, a resident who fought the fires with a hose while wearing a flower crown for the festival. "These kites and balloons look happy and peaceful but it's terror. Sooner or later someone is going to get killed. "

Volunteers from the kibbutz have joined forces with professional firefighters and park rangers to fight the daily flames. Most likely to be within 15 minutes.

"What Hamas is trying to do? We are trying to make it possible to deny them victory, "said Shmulik Friedman, the fire chief for southern Israel.

While there have been rumors of an Egyptian-brokered deal to stop the balloons, the fires continued yesterday. 19659002] "We are preparing these balloons to burn the Zionists' forests and military sites, despite the threat of the Israeli army to target and badbadinate us," said one masked Palestinian man

Mr Peretz and his partner Eli Dudaei moved to The Kibbutz (19659002)

Both men are deeply involved in the life of the dead (19659002) "Last year, 14 babies were born on the kibbutz, more than anyone can remember," said Mr Dudaei. "This is our answer to all the terror and all the threats."