The “Peace Council” charged by the American administration with overseeing a peace plan for the Gaza Strip warned Hamas on Tuesday August 25 against the use of kites, after Israel threatened new retaliatory strikes.
“All militant activity in Gaza must stop, including flying kites. We have conveyed this message directly through the established mechanism,” said a “Peace Council” official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Israel must also comply with the ceasefire. Military action cannot go beyond a response to real and imminent threats,” the official added.
Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Katz warned the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Sunday that Israel would intensify its operations in the Gaza Strip if the launches of kites, drones and balloons towards Israel continued.
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Israeli media reported that four kites were found on Saturday in localities near the border and that another was shot down by the army on Sunday, bringing the total number recovered in recent days to around ten – in localities traumatized by the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
“Activities of innocent children”, according to Hamas
While these devices did not carry explosives, their launch revives memories of waves of incendiary kites and balloons launched from Palestinian territory in recent years, which sparked fires in agricultural lands in southern Israel. The army believes, according to Israeli media, that Hamas could want to test Israel’s reaction.
Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, assured in a statement on Sunday that the kites had been “launched from Gaza by children in search of their innocent childhood in the middle of the rubble”.
He criticized the “Peace Council’s” warning on Tuesday, repeating that the kites were not launched by Hamas: “How audacious! Is it conceivable that attempts to mollify the war criminal Netanyahu have led them to describe the activities of innocent children as armed activities, while Netanyahu continues to kill and destroy daily despite the agreement?”
He was referring to the US-backed Gaza peace deal, accepted by Hamas but criticized by Israeli leaders.
With AFP
