File image.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said on August 23 that they had instructed the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to take significant action after the launching of kites from the Gaza Strip.
At least four kites were flown from Gaza to the settlement of Nahal Oz over the past day. The incident was linked to kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices launched from the Strip that plagued southern Israel in previous years.
The IDF stressed that “no suspicious findings were identified on the kites,” and that “at no stage was there any danger to the public.” However, Hebrew media reported that the military believes that Hamas was responsible for launching the kites, and was doing so to test whether and how Israel would respond.
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In an initial reaction to the kite incident, Netanyahu said in a video that he directed the defense establishment and the IDF to do “everything” to confront the threat of drones to Israel, saying that small unmanned aerial vehicles could be as “lethal” as an F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet.
“We have been working for several years on a solution to the drone threat. We are the most advanced in the world, but this is a global problem,” Netanyahu said in the video, noting that such drones have been used in Ukraine and Lebanon, “and now they are trying to renew this threat and bring it into Gaza.”
“My directive to the defense establishment and the IDF is to do everything against this lethal weapon — to strike it, to strike those operating it, to strike the place from which it was launched, to do everything in order to protect our citizens in the Gaza border communities and everywhere else,” he added.
Separately, Katz said in a statement he had also instructed the military to “act forcefully” against the launching of kites from the Gaza.
“I instructed the IDF to act immediately and forcefully against any phenomenon of launches from Gaza toward the communities of the western Negev,” the minister said.
Katz added that he views “every launch as an act of war in every respect, and is committed to the absolute protection of the Israeli communities.”
“A balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite is treated like a drone — with or without explosives,” he said. “Anyone who organizes, launches, or enables the launches will be dealt with immediately and with the utmost severity.”
Later, a joint statement from Netanyahu and Katz threatened to “intensify strikes” against those responsible for launching kites from Gaza.
Netanyahu and Katz held an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top military and defense officials on the incident.
“Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not stop immediately, the IDF will act to intensify strikes against those responsible for the launches and evacuate populations from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched,” Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement.
From its side, Hamas claimed the kites were merely “children’s toys” from Gaza refugee camps and warned Israel not to follow through on its threats.
The group’s spokesman Hazem Qassem said, “these threats are based on fabricated pretexts and are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people.”
“We call on the US administration, the mediating countries and the Board of Peace to stop the unchecked aggression against our people and the destruction of the ceasefire framework,” he added.
Several strikes have hit Gaza since the Israeli threats, with reports from August 23 indicating that at least three Palestinians, including a four-year-old child, were killed. Another man was killed in a series of strikes that targeted the strip the following day.
The panic from Netanyahu and Katz may be the result of intelligence indicating that Hamas is attempting to acquire drones. The premier’s remarks in his video message in particular suggest that first-person view (FPV) suicide quadcopters may be making their way to Gaza. This would also explain why the IDF believes the group launched the kites to probe its response.
Israel has failed to prevent Hezbollah from acquiring FPV suicide quadcopters, which proved to be a game changer to some extent, inflicting some serious losses on the IDF.
Of course, it is also possible that Israel is using the kite incident as a pretext to escalate against Hamas, with the ultimate aim of sabotaging the United States-sponsored peace plan. There have already been Hebrew media reports of the IDF preparing to resume operations in Gaza.
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so palestinians are reduced to flying kites to get any notice in slop media. so naturally, israel will claim that all kites are anti semitic. kinesset will create laws that all children who fly kites shall be labeled terrorists. when did any legally required international aid enter gaza. does any one know?
palestinians are real semites and descendants of biblical hebrews. as opposite khazars are not semites, khazars (colonists from europe of khazaria origin) have mongolian dna
agora sim o bicho vai pega! israel não pode com os drones fpv. matem um por um dos soldados israelenses estacionados em gaza, cacem eles como ratos!🐀🐀🐀
any old excuse eh? it sounds to me that what hezbollah need are hundreds of manpads. that will scatter the pigeons.