Flying kites was once an ordinary childhood joy for children in Gaza. Now, residents live in fear that even a kite drifting across the border into Israel could become a pretext for a fresh attack. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced that kites and balloons flown from Gaza will now be treated the same as drones.
According to Middle East-based outlet The National, at least four kites that flew from Gaza recently landed at the Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz, near the border. The Israeli military examined the kites and found no suspicious objects or explosives, and did not consider them dangerous. Even so, Israel has announced a hardline stance in response to the incident.
In a post on social media platform X on Monday, August 24, Israeli Defense Minister Katz said the military has been instructed to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy toward the flying of kites and balloons from Gaza. He warned that if such incidents continue, “forceful measures” would be taken to stop them. Katz said any balloon or kite, whether or not it carries explosives, would be treated the same as a drone.
The warning has caused fresh anxiety among ordinary people in Gaza. Marwan al-Harazin, 55, a resident of northern Gaza who was displaced and has taken shelter in the Deir al-Balah area of central Gaza, said children near the tents often fly kites. But after Israel’s threat, he said, parents will now have to stop their children from flying them.
Al-Harazin said any threat from Israel must be taken seriously, because the flimsiest pretext is enough for them to launch an attack.
Palestinian political analyst Mukhaimer Abusada, however, said it would be wrong to equate the current kite-flying with the situation between 2018 and 2021. During that period, amid the “Great March of Return” movement, kites and balloons carrying incendiary materials were sent from Gaza toward Israel, sparking wildfires in various areas. But the kites now in children’s hands, he said, are simply ordinary toys.
Abusada fears Israel could draw a link between that earlier episode and the current situation to justify harsher military action in Gaza. He said Palestinians, too, should remain cautious given the potential consequences.
Abusada said the people of Gaza are already enduring extreme hardship. They are in no position to withstand fresh tension or conflict sparked by a child flying a kite.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report