IDF told to act forcefully against Gaza kites; 3 reported killed in Israeli strikes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz both said Sunday that they had instructed the IDF to take significant action after the launching of kites from the Gaza Strip over the weekend.

Subsequent Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday were reported to kill three people, including a young boy.

In a statement, Netanyahu said he directed the defense establishment and the IDF to do “everything” to confront what he called the “lethal” threat of drones to Israel.

“We have been working for several years on a solution to the drone threat. We are the most advanced in the world, but this is a global problem,” Netanyahu said in a video message, saying the weapons have been used in Ukraine and Lebanon, “and now they are trying to renew this threat and bring it into Gaza.”

While Netanyahu did not mention the incident directly, he appeared to be drawing a connection between recent kite launches from Gaza and the broader threat posed by armed drones.

At least four kites were flown from Gaza to Kibbutz Nahal Oz over the weekend. The army said nothing suspicious was found on the kites and there was no danger to the public, but many have associated the objects with the Gazan kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices that plagued southern Israel in previous years.

The military stressed that “no suspicious findings were identified on the kites,” and that “at no stage was there any danger to the public.” But according to Hebrew media reports, the IDF believes that Hamas was responsible for launching the kites, and was doing so to test whether and how Israel would respond.

“My directive to the defense establishment and the IDF is to do everything against this lethal weapon — to strike it, to strike those operating it, to strike the place from which it was launched, to do everything in order to protect our citizens in the Gaza border communities and everywhere else,” Netanyahu said.

In a statement Sunday evening, Hamas claimed the kites were merely “children’s toys” from Gaza refugee camps and warned Israel not to follow through on its threats.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said “these threats are based on fabricated pretexts and are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people.”

He added: “We call on the US administration, the mediating countries and the Board of Peace to stop the unchecked aggression against our people and the destruction of the ceasefire framework.”

Palestinian media reported one dead and several wounded in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. The strike took place near the Maghazi camp.

The IDF later said that the strike killed Ismail Abu Ful, who it said was the commander of an arms production site. The military said that “the terrorist took an active part in manufacturing explosive devices and anti-tank rockets” for Hamas, and he was “eliminated to remove the threat.”

In a separate strike in the nearby town of az-Zawayda, the IAF struck a weapons manufacturing site “near an aid distribution point operated by an international organization,” according to the IDF.

Shrapnel from that strike, which came after a warning by the IDF for residents of the area, reportedly killed two people, including a 4-year-old boy, and injured several others.

“This is another example of Hamas’s systematic use of and embedding within civilian infrastructure, including aid distribution centers, to advance and execute terror attacks against IDF troops operating in the Yellow Line area and against Israeli civilians,” the military said.

The IDF said the arms production site shows that Hamas “systematically violates the ceasefire agreement while attempting to rehabilitate its military capabilities and strengthen its force buildup.”

Residents said the strike followed a warning by the IDF for the owners of the property to leave the area. Medics said flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of meters around hit at least six people, including the 4-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Hours later, a joint statement from Netanyahu and Katz threatened to “intensify strikes” against those responsible for launching kites from Gaza toward Israeli border communities, and evacuate areas of the Strip.

Netanyahu and Katz held an assessment Sunday evening with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top military and defense officials on the recent kites.

“Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not stop immediately, the IDF will act to intensify strikes against those responsible for the launches and evacuate populations from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched,” Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement.

Earlier Sunday, Katz said he had instructed the IDF to “act forcefully” against the launching of kites from the Gaza Strip.

“I instructed the IDF to act immediately and forcefully against any phenomenon of launches from Gaza toward the communities of the western Negev,” Katz said in a statement.

Katz said he views “every launch as an act of war in every respect, and is committed to the absolute protection of the Israeli communities.”

“A balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite is treated like a drone — with or without explosives,” he said. “Anyone who organizes, launches, or enables the launches will be dealt with immediately and with the utmost severity.”

Gazan kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices plagued southern Israel, burning large swaths of land, in previous years prior to the current Gaza war.

Earlier this month, Channel 12 news reported that Israel’s defense establishment had identified a significant increase in attempts by terror groups to launch explosive drones – including fiber-optic drones – within Israel toward targets across the country, with officials said to warn that there was no effective operational solution to the emerging threat.

Fiber-optic drones, which are guided via a cable and therefore immune to electronic jamming, have posed a major challenge for the IDF during its operations in Lebanon, killing Israeli soldiers.

Sunday’s Israeli strikes on Gaza come as the international community attempts to implement a US-backed plan for ending the Gaza conflict. The plan calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, but progress has remained stalled.

Hamas has said it accepts the proposal, but Netanyahu has rejected withdrawing the IDF until Hamas fully gives up its weapons.

Israel has accused Hamas of tightening its grip on Gaza’s civilian population as it seeks to retain control of the enclave.

Stav Levaton contributed to this report.