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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-orders-gaza-expulsions-over-kites-flown-children">middleeasteye.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel to expel Palestinians in Gaza over kites flown by children</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Nadav Rapaport</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">August 29, 2026</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p>The <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel" target="_blank">Israeli </a>government has instructed its military to expel <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine" target="_blank">Palestinians </a>from areas of the Gaza Strip where children are flying kites and releasing balloons, Israel\u2019s Channel 13 <a href="https://13tv.co.il/item/news/politics/security/gaza-905332266/" target="_blank">reported </a>on Thursday.</p>
<p>According to the report, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz told
army chief Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials that \u201cthe
ultimatum we issued following the launching of balloons and kites from
the Gaza Strip towards Negev communities [in southern Israel] has
expired\u201d.</p>
<p>\u201cEvery launching of balloons and kites from Gaza towards southern
communities will be met with a severe response,\u201d Katz said during a
meeting with the military\u2019s top command.</p>
<p>From Israel\u2019s perspective, Katz reportedly said, \u201cevery launch is an
act of terrorism\u201d, referring to kites and balloons that the Israeli army
itself deemed a week ago to pose no danger to Israeli civilians.</p>
<p>\u201cFrom now on, every launch will be met with a forceful response
against those responsible, the organisers and the perpetrators,\u201d Katz
said, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered
the new measure.</p><p>The Israeli military, Katz said, \u201cwill act with all necessary means,
including evacuating the population from an area or neighbourhood from
which launches are carried out, in order to deal with the centres of
terrorism\u201d.</p>
<p>Katz added that Israel would not allow Hamas or any other group to threaten Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>\u201cWhoever does so will pay a heavy price,\u201d he said.</p>
<h3>Public demand for assassinations</h3>
<p>In recent months, Israeli media have reported on kites being flown
from the Gaza Strip, including an increase in the number of Palestinian
kites crossing into Israel.</p>
<p>The newspaper Israel Hayom <a href="https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/defense/article/21294846" target="_blank">reported </a>on
Thursday that Israel\u2019s security establishment sees Hamas as responsible
for the increase, claiming the group is acting out of frustration over
Israel\u2019s deadly attacks on the besieged enclave.</p>
<p>Last week, Haaretz <a href="https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2026-08-22/ty-article/.premium/000001a0-2959-dc38-a7f1-3f7f31930000" target="_blank">reported </a>that
four kites had been found in communities along the Gaza-Israel
boundary, prompting residents to demand a military response. </p>
<p>\u201cThis is how it started before 7 October,\u201d one Israeli local
community said last week, adding that it \u201cwill not accept a policy of
containment when it comes to our security\u201d.</p>
<p>Ori Epstein, head of the Sha\u2019ar HaNegev Regional Council, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18HFZmNbXn/" target="_blank">said </a>on Sunday that \u201ca kite that crosses into Israeli territory is an incident that requires a response\u201d.</p>
<div>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/i-want-my-father-back-gazas-orphans-safety-has-become-distant-memory" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/Displaced%20Palestinian%20children%20are%20seen%20outside%20a%20tent%20along%20the%20seafront%20in%20Gaza%20City%2C%20on%20January%209%2C%202026-reuters.jpg.webp?itok=K67r_g37" width="400" height="250" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img">
</a></p><p>For Gaza's orphans, the safety of childhood vanished with their parents</p>
<p><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/i-want-my-father-back-gazas-orphans-safety-has-become-distant-memory" target="_blank">Read More »</a>
</p></div>
<p>\u201cWhen there\u2019s no response,\u201d the Israeli local politician added, \u201cthe
message that gets conveyed to the other side is that it\u2019s allowed to
continue.\u201d</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://13tv.co.il/item/news/politics/security/fb5qy-905330534/" target="_blank">Channel 13</a>,
the Israeli military has responded to the public demands, with Zamir
ordering an increase in targeted assassinations across the Gaza Strip
earlier this week.</p>
<p>\u201cIsrael will not allow Hamas or any other party in the Gaza Strip to
return to threatening our communities and undermining our citizens\u2019
sense of security,\u201d Netanyahu <a href="https://13tv.co.il/item/news/politics/security/bpfn4-905326542/?pid=94335" target="_blank">said </a>on Monday after meeting Zamir.</p>
<p>The Israeli prime minister warned Hamas that if the kite launches did
not stop, the military would strike \u201cthose responsible for the launches
and will evacuate the population from areas from which kites, drones
and balloons are launched\u201d.</p>
<p>As Israeli threats over kites crossing into Israel increased, local non-governmental <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-parents-urged-stop-kids-flying-kites-after-israel-warning-hamas-2026-08-25/" target="_blank">organisations </a>in Gaza, in coordination with Hamas, urged parents to stop their children from flying kites.</p>
<p>\u201cWe are working tirelessly on the ground and doing everything
possible to stop this practice,\u201d the organisations said in a public
statement, adding that they wanted to protect the lives of innocent
children.</p>
<p>While Israel carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip this week,
killing Palestinian civilians, senior Hamas official Basem Naim <a href="https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/2091659454651490793?s=20" target="_blank">commented </a>on the Israeli threats over what Israel has described as \u201ckite terrorism\u201d.</p>
<p>\u201cIn a surreal paradox, a nuclear state that practises terrorism
daily, charged with committing genocide in Gaza, mobilises and issues
orders to deal forcefully with paper kites coming out of Gaza,\u201d Naim
said, stressing that children were flying the kites.</p>
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