Benjamin Netanyahu threatened severe retaliation over a kite episode tied to Gaza on Sunday, after Israeli military inspections said 10 paper kites recovered from displacement camps were free of explosives and flown by children. Netanyahu and Israel Katz also warned that Palestinians in Gaza could face forced displacement from areas used as launch sites.
Az-Zawayda After the strikes
Sunday’s violence had already set the scene in az-Zawayda. Israeli forces fired missiles at a warehouse there, and Israeli strikes near Salah al-Din Street killed four-year-old Muhammad Abdel Salam Taha. In central Gaza, Abu Ahmed stood amid the wreckage and said, “There is no ceasefire; there is nothing. We want solutions; we want to live in peace,” a line that captured how the threat over toys landed inside a much wider round of attacks.
Netanyahu and Israel Katz
Netanyahu and Israel Katz issued a joint statement on Sunday saying, “There will be no return to the state of affairs prior to October 7,” and warning against actions “to threaten our communities again and compromise our citizens’ sense of security.” The statement tied the threat to kites, drones, and balloons allegedly launched from Gaza, and said the response would be severe.
Israeli drone attacks also hit southern Khan Younis and a tent sheltering displaced people at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah. The threat of forced displacement adds a practical danger for Palestinians in Gaza living near the areas Israel says were used for launches, even as the military’s own inspections pointed to a different picture: 10 paper kites, no explosives, and children in displacement camps.
Gaza and Israeli claims
Hussam Shaheen said to Al Jazeera that the drone allegation is “a false and baseless assertion; it is non-existent. It has been denied, and there is no evidence whatsoever to prove any connection to drones,” and added, “Seventy percent of the Strip is still under the control of the Israeli army, so how can one talk about paper kites penetrating all this space and posing a security threat?” Adel Shadid said, “It was clear that there was an intention to invest in and use these paper kites as a pretext, and the whole issue might be fabricated.”
What happens next rests on the evidence Israel says it has for the drone and balloon claims. The military inspection result leaves the kite allegation on one side and the threat of further escalation on the other, with Palestinians in Gaza facing the consequences while the dispute over what was actually launched remains at the center of the story.
