The Israel-Gaza Strip border. Photo: Mary Madigan via Wikimedia Commons.

Farmers in southern Israel upset over the damage being done to their fields by “kite bombs” launched by Palestinian terrorists across the border in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the Hebrew news site Ynet reported on Tuesday.

“At first we thought it was a gimmick, some kind of joke,” a veteran farmer told Ynet of the new phenomenon. “But it turns out we were mistaken big time. This is very serious, and then some. This old-fashioned weapon is making major trouble for us and causing heavy damage.”

The “kite terror” campaign began earlier this month as part of the ongoing Hamas-orchestrated “Great March of Return” riots on the Israel-Gaza border.

In recent weeks, numerous kites rigged with Molotov cocktails have ignited blazes in Israeli agricultural fields adjacent to the border.

Another farmer told Ynet, “When we see a burning kite flying in the air, we immediately stop working. Everyone tracks the kite to make sure it lands in an open field, and not on our crops. It’s an absurd situation.”