In the Gaza Strip, one Palestinian was killed and three others wounded Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed a security observation post near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Israel said it was targeting Palestinians launching incendiary devices on kites flown over Israel’s militarized border with Gaza, which it blames for burning crops on Israeli farms. In southern Israel, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said today Israel was preparing to launch a “large and painful military operation” that he said would rival the 2014 assault on Gaza, which killed over 2,300 Palestinians while leaving 17,000 injured. This came as Israel further tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip, barring deliveries of natural gas and other fuels. In a statement, the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israel's fuel blockade would exacerbate the already dire living conditions in Gaza, and raised concerns of collective punishment.