Israel warns of strikes, evacuations over kites launched by Palestinian children in Gaza
Boys fly a kite against the backdrop of smoke rising from a shelter that houses displaced Palestinians, after an Israeli air strike in the west of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, 31 January 2026
Ayse Betul Aytekin reports in Middle East Eye on 23 August 2026:
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.
Hamas responded later on Sunday by saying Israel is using kites “as a pretext” to intensify attacks on Gaza. In a statement on the group’s website, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the move amounts to “threatening children.” He called on the US, the UN Security Council, and mediating states to pressure Israel into halting what he described as an attempt to undermine a ceasefire.
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.
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