Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas which came into effect during the early hours of Friday morning, a group of Palestinian locals decided to mark an end to hostilities with a celebratory fireworks display.
However, their entertainment proved to be short-lived. With their sparklers barely lit, Israel’s Iron Dome defence system caught wind of the display and swiftly intercepted their garden variety rockets – at a cost of $80,000 a time – making it the most expensive garden fireworks display in history.
After eliminating an assortment of readily available garden fireworks – including a Supersonic Stargazer, a Rattler, and a Mission to Mars – an Israeli spokesperson told reporters: ‘If ever you needed justification for a $1.6bn air defence system then tonight you have it.’
Elsewhere, an evening of fireworks turned to bonfire night after Iron Dome detected a Catherine wheel being lit in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, resulting in a Palestinian man’s new fence being flattened beyond repair. The destruction of the fence has caused an international outcry, with Amnesty International describing the incident as: ‘one of the most brazen violations of international law since the conflict began.’
When asked to comment on the fence’s demise, a spokesperson from the Israeli Ministry of The Fence told us: ‘The firework posed a wheel and present danger to the nation of Israel.’
