According to reports from the Jerusalem Post and Israel Times on August 23rd, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz warned the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) that if it did not immediately stop sending ‘kites’ from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, the Israel Defense Forces would intensify their efforts against those involved and evacuate residents from the relevant areas in the Gaza Strip.
On August 23 local time, the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel released a statement on social media, stating that Netanyahu and Katz held a situation assessment meeting that evening to discuss the threats posed by kites, balloons, and drones flying into Israel from the Gaza Strip. General Commander Zaimer, Chairman of the National Security Committee, and senior Israeli officials attended the meeting.
The statement said that Israel warned Hamas that if the reckless actions against Israel did not cease immediately, the Israel Defense Forces would intensify targeted attacks against those responsible for such actions, and would evacuate people from areas where kites, drones, and balloons were being launched.
August 22nd, the Israeli military is inspecting a kite that was released from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Times
According to reports, in the past week, the Israeli military discovered at least 6 kites that flew into Israel from the Gaza Strip. In Nahr al-Ouz, a collective farm near the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, at least 4 kites were found over the weekend. No suspicious items were found on these kites, and they did not pose any danger to the public. However, these kites remind people of kites and balloons that were flown from the Gaza Strip in previous years, carrying incendiary devices, which caused fires in several areas of southern Israel.
According to military sources, the people who flew the kites were "teenagers around twelve or thirteen years old, and these teenagers were controlled by others. The controllers were likely Hamas militants."
Hamas spokesman Hisham Qasim announced in a statement on the evening of the 23rd that these kites were merely "toys for children in the Gaza refugee camp".
Kasim said that Yi's threats were "based on fabricated excuses," attempting to find reasons for continuing actions and "violations" against Palestinians.
Kasim called on the U.S. government, the mediation nations, and the “Peace Committee” to prevent “invasions” against Palestinians and avoid the ceasefire framework being undermined.
