Gaza border regional council demands military respond to kites flown from Gaza

The Shaar Hanegev Regional Council on the border with the Gaza Strip demands that the military respond to kites that are being flown over the border from the Hamas-run territory.

Over the weekend, four kites with strings stretching for kilometers were located in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The army said the kites were not carrying anything suspicious and did not pose a threat.

“We demand that the IDF act against every kite that crosses into Israeli territory, locate it, and deal with it in real time. Not after it has landed. Not retroactively. In real time,” says the head of the council, Uri Epstein.

“These incidents must not become routine that the security establishment learns to live with. A kite that crosses into Israeli territory is an incident that requires a response. When there is no response, the message that gets across to the other side is that they can continue,” he adds.

In 2018, Palestinian terrorists launched kites carrying incendiary devices at Israeli border communities, setting fire to wide swaths of land.

“We must not make this mistake again. We demand an immediate investigation of the incidents, and to ensure that there is a response that is activated in real time, not after the incident has ended,” Epstein says.