Education Minister Yoav Galant responded to the escalation in the south in an interview with Reshet Bet, saying: "Every balloon is a violation of sovereignty and a challenge. The moment will come when we will have to take off our gloves and hit the dispatchers. The Gaza issue is not just military, in the end we must find a way to allow the removal of steam from Gaza - it serves us."
Galant added: "Welfare for the people of Gaza is a first-class Israeli interest. Hamas has taken two million hostages - we will not allow Israeli citizens to be harmed. At present, this is an unresolved equation."