Gaza parents warned to stop children flying kites after Israeli threat

Gaza, Palestinian Territories. Committees representing local organisations and charities operating displacement camps and shelters in Gaza have warned parents to stop children flying kites after Israel threatened a forceful response to launches across the border.

The warning, issued late on Monday, was coordinated with Hamas authorities, according to a source in the militant group.

Committee statement

The popular committees said they were working to stop the practice in order to protect children, rather than restrict their ability to play.

“We are working tirelessly on the ground and doing everything possible to stop this practice, not to restrict the childhood of our children, who have already been deprived of the most basic rights to play and live in safety, but to protect their innocent lives,” the statement said.

Previous use of kites

In 2018, Gazans sent incendiary balloons and kites over the border, causing fires across hundreds of acres of open fields and farmland. Those involved said the launches were in protest at the Israeli blockade of the Hamas-controlled enclave.

During the past month, several kites not reported to be carrying incendiary materials were seen drifting from Gaza into Israel. The incidents alarmed residents of nearby Israeli villages, which were attacked during the Hamas-led assault of October 7, 2023, that sparked the Gaza war.

Israeli warning

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that unless the launches stopped immediately, those responsible for sending kites, balloons or drones towards Israel would be targeted for assassination and areas from which they were launched would be ordered to evacuate.

A senior Israeli defence official said Hamas was seeking to provoke Israel by encouraging Gazans to fly kites across the border.

Umm Mohammed, a mother in Gaza City who spoke to Reuters through a chat app, said she feared her 10-year-old son, Ahmed, could be harmed.

“Every summer, my kid, Ahmed, 10, and the kids in the street fly those kites to entertain themselves, but I will not allow him to, not anymore,” she said.