(JTA) – A fire burned dozens of acres of forest and agricultural fields in southern Israel after a kite carrying a firebomb crossed the border from Gaza. Ten teams of firefighters were called to the Beeri Forest near Kibbutz Beeri on April 2 to bring the fire sparked by the incendiary kite under control. The fire burned for hours. It was the largest fire triggered by the kites sent from Gaza since their first use by Gaza Palestinians in late March, at the start of weekly protests at the Gaza-Israel border. Israel has experienced hot and dry conditions and high winds over the past few days. The explosives-laden kites are an escalation of the weekly protests called the March of Return, which are scheduled to end on May 14, the 70th anniversary, according to the Gregorian calendar, of the birth of the modern State of Israel. The Arab world refers to Israel’s founding as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Officials in southern Israel have told the Israeli media that the explosives-laden kites are now a daily occurrence.