Israel has issued a warning of a "forceful" response to kites being flown from the Gaza Strip into its territory, with officials stating that such launches will be treated with zero tolerance. The warning comes after several kites were discovered in southern Israel near the Gaza border.
According to Israeli military sources cited in reports, Hamas is believed to be behind the kite launches, possibly as a means to test Israel's reaction. The kites found did not have any suspicious materials attached and did not pose an immediate threat, the military confirmed. However, Israeli officials have declared a policy of "zero tolerance," asserting that "a balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite is treated like a drone, with or without explosives."
Residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, located approximately 800 meters from the Gaza border, expressed fears of a return to tactics involving incendiary kites and balloons, stating they would not accept a policy of containment regarding their security.
Hamas, in response, has cautioned against Israel's allegations and threats, describing the kites as "basically children's toys from displacement camps." A spokesperson for the group characterized Israel's threats as "based on fabricated pretexts" and an attempt to justify continued aggression against Palestinians.
This escalation in rhetoric follows recent Israeli strikes in Gaza. On Sunday, Palestinian health officials reported that two individuals were killed and seven others injured in separate Israeli strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp and the town of al-Zuwayda in central Gaza. The Israeli military stated that one of the strikes targeted and killed Ismail Abu Ful, identified as the commander of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site in the Maghazi, adding that residents were warned to evacuate beforehand.
On Monday, a man identified by the Israeli military as Mohammed Abu Asad, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba forces who participated in the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, was killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a tent in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military launched its campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attack, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 74,420 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began, with 1,288 fatalities recorded since a ceasefire took effect.