Hamas: Kites that reached Israel are ‘children’s toys from refugee camps’

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem warns in a statement against “the occupation’s [Israel’s] threats over what it calls the ‘launching of kites,'” adding that the kites are “children’s toys in the refugee camps [in Gaza].”

This is Hamas’s first public comment on the kites launched from Gaza.

In recent days, several such kites have been found in Israel after apparently crossing over from the Gaza Strip. So far, no explosives or incendiary materials have been found attached to them.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that the IDF would “intensify strikes” against those responsible for launching kites from Gaza toward Israeli border communities, and evacuate areas of the Strip.

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

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.