Popular committees in Gaza call for a ban on flying “kites”

Popular committees in displacement camps and shelters in the Gaza Strip called on residents on Monday to prevent children from flying kites over the camps and shelters, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat to intensify targeting of those responsible for launching balloons, drones, and kites. The committees added that these measures “are not a restriction on the childhood of Gaza’s children, who have already been deprived of their most basic rights to play and safety,” but rather a means of protecting them. They pointed out that the Israeli occupation uses these flying objects, however rudimentary and peaceful, as a pretext to “target and kill children and target gatherings and areas densely populated with displaced people.” On Sunday, Netanyahu threatened to evacuate areas in Gaza from which balloons, drones, and kites are launched toward Israel, vowing to intensify targeting of those responsible if they do not cease immediately. He also conducted a security assessment with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and army commanders regarding these threats.