Israel warns of strikes, evacuations over kites launched by Palestinian children in Gaza
Middle East Eye
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Middle East Eye
Original Source
Israel has cited kites launched by Palestinian children in Gaza as justification for military strikes and mass evacuations across the Strip. Netanyahu's office issued a three-day ultimatum to Hamas to halt the kite launches, threatening a broad air assault and the evacuation of areas from which the kites are launched.
Kites flown by Palestinian children in Gaza are now being cited by the Israeli military as justification for further strikes and displacement across the Strip.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Sunday that Israel gave Hamas a three-day deadline to halt the kite launches, threatening a broad air assault if they continued, and said it would evacuate areas of Gaza from which balloons, drones and paper kites are launched.
Over the weekend, Israeli media reported that several kites, believed to have been launched from Gaza, had landed near Nahal Oz Kibbutz, an illegal Israeli settlement adjacent to Gaza.
Israeli military sources said the kites were being launched by Palestinian children, noting that no suspicious materials were found on any of them and that they posed no danger to the public.
But residents of the kibbutz complained, saying kites should not be dismissed as "isolated" or harmless incidents.
"We will not accept a policy of containment when it comes to our security," they said in a statement.
Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz held a special meeting on Sunday with the Israeli military chief of staff, the head of the National Security Council, and other officials, regarding the kites.
Katz said he had directed Israeli forces to respond "forcefully" to the launches and to take steps to stop them, classifying them as an "act of war" and treating them the same as drones.
The measures, he said, would include targeting Hamas commanders "responsible for the launches."
"A balloon is like a kite, and a kite is like a drone, whether it carries explosives or not," he added.
Over the years of Israel's siege on Gaza, which started in 2007, the kite has become a symbol of freedom for Palestinians, especially children, in the Strip.
In 2010, thousands of Palestinian children flew kites on Gaza's beach as part of UNRWA's Summer Games, setting a new world record for the most kites flown simultaneously.
A total of 6,302 kites, made by the children themselves, were hoisted into the air.
Throughout the years, it has remained popular among Palestinians in Gaza to make their own kites and fly them, even as they themselves have found no way beyond the walls enclosing the besieged enclave.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Sunday that Israel gave Hamas a three-day deadline to halt the kite launches, threatening a broad air assault if they continued, and said it would evacuate areas of Gaza from which balloons, drones and paper kites are launched.
Over the weekend, Israeli media reported that several kites, believed to have been launched from Gaza, had landed near Nahal Oz Kibbutz, an illegal Israeli settlement adjacent to Gaza.
Israeli military sources said the kites were being launched by Palestinian children, noting that no suspicious materials were found on any of them and that they posed no danger to the public.
But residents of the kibbutz complained, saying kites should not be dismissed as "isolated" or harmless incidents.
"We will not accept a policy of containment when it comes to our security," they said in a statement.
Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz held a special meeting on Sunday with the Israeli military chief of staff, the head of the National Security Council, and other officials, regarding the kites.
Katz said he had directed Israeli forces to respond "forcefully" to the launches and to take steps to stop them, classifying them as an "act of war" and treating them the same as drones.
The measures, he said, would include targeting Hamas commanders "responsible for the launches."
"A balloon is like a kite, and a kite is like a drone, whether it carries explosives or not," he added.
Over the years of Israel's siege on Gaza, which started in 2007, the kite has become a symbol of freedom for Palestinians, especially children, in the Strip.
In 2010, thousands of Palestinian children flew kites on Gaza's beach as part of UNRWA's Summer Games, setting a new world record for the most kites flown simultaneously.
A total of 6,302 kites, made by the children themselves, were hoisted into the air.
Throughout the years, it has remained popular among Palestinians in Gaza to make their own kites and fly them, even as they themselves have found no way beyond the walls enclosing the besieged enclave.
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Source: Middle East Eye
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