Israel to expel Palestinians in Gaza over kites flown by children
The Israeli government has instructed its military to expel Palestinians from areas of the Gaza Strip where children are flying kites and releasing balloons, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Thursday.
According to the report, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz told army chief Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials that “the ultimatum we issued following the launching of balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Negev communities [in southern Israel] has expired”.
“Every launching of balloons and kites from Gaza towards southern communities will be met with a severe response,” Katz said during a meeting with the military’s top command.
From Israel’s perspective, Katz reportedly said, “every launch is an act of terrorism”, referring to kites and balloons that the Israeli army itself deemed a week ago to pose no danger to Israeli civilians.
“From now on, every launch will be met with a forceful response against those responsible, the organisers and the perpetrators,” Katz said, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the new measure.
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The Israeli military, Katz said, “will act with all necessary means, including evacuating the population from an area or neighbourhood from which launches are carried out, in order to deal with the centres of terrorism”.
Katz added that Israel would not allow Hamas or any other group to threaten Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.
“Whoever does so will pay a heavy price,” he said.
Public demand for assassinations
In recent months, Israeli media have reported on kites being flown from the Gaza Strip, including an increase in the number of Palestinian kites crossing into Israel.
The newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Thursday that Israel’s security establishment sees Hamas as responsible for the increase, claiming the group is acting out of frustration over Israel’s deadly attacks on the besieged enclave.
Last week, Haaretz reported that four kites had been found in communities along the Gaza-Israel boundary, prompting residents to demand a military response.
“This is how it started before 7 October,” one Israeli local community said last week, adding that it “will not accept a policy of containment when it comes to our security”.
Ori Epstein, head of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, said on Sunday that “a kite that crosses into Israeli territory is an incident that requires a response”.
“When there’s no response,” the Israeli local politician added, “the message that gets conveyed to the other side is that it’s allowed to continue.”
According to Channel 13, the Israeli military has responded to the public demands, with Zamir ordering an increase in targeted assassinations across the Gaza Strip earlier this week.
“Israel will not allow Hamas or any other party in the Gaza Strip to return to threatening our communities and undermining our citizens’ sense of security,” Netanyahu said on Monday after meeting Zamir.
The Israeli prime minister warned Hamas that if the kite launches did not stop, the military would strike “those responsible for the launches and will evacuate the population from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched”.
As Israeli threats over kites crossing into Israel increased, local non-governmental organisations in Gaza, in coordination with Hamas, urged parents to stop their children from flying kites.
“We are working tirelessly on the ground and doing everything possible to stop this practice,” the organisations said in a public statement, adding that they wanted to protect the lives of innocent children.
While Israel carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip this week, killing Palestinian civilians, senior Hamas official Basem Naim commented on the Israeli threats over what Israel has described as “kite terrorism”.
“In a surreal paradox, a nuclear state that practises terrorism daily, charged with committing genocide in Gaza, mobilises and issues orders to deal forcefully with paper kites coming out of Gaza,” Naim said, stressing that children were flying the kites.
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