A blaze started by kites carrying burning fuel have ignited fields in southern Israel requiring ten teams of firefighters to fight them, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

The fires were the largest since Palestinians participating in riots led by the terrorist group Hamas started adopting the tactic. The area affected by the fires were fields located near Kibbutz Be’eri close to Israel’s border with Gaza.

The fires burned for hours and consumed dozens of acres of grasslands and agricultural fields. As of late Wednesday, the firefighters were reported to only beginning to get the fires under control.

The Israeli security forces have yet to develop a strategy to fight this tactic, referred to by the Times as “arson-by-kite,” effectively. The threat to Israel from the fires belie claims of Hamas that the riots are non-violent.

The rioters have also attempted to tear down the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip.

During the five weeks of the riots, over 40 of the rioters have been killed by the IDF. A study by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in late April determined that 32 of the 40 rioters killed at that point were tied to terror groups.

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