Israel says kites from Gaza justify escalation of attacks
Theo Al Jazeera English
A 4-year-old boy was among three Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in central Gaza on August 23, while Israel threatened further escalation over allegations that kites were launched from the territory. Experts say the kite threat is fabricated to derail ceasefires and serve political aims.
On August 23, Israel fired missiles at a warehouse in az-Zawayda, destroying the structure, and later carried out an airstrike near Salah al-Din road, killing 4-year-old Muhammad Abdel Salam Taha. Drone strikes also targeted southern Khan Younis and a tent sheltering displaced people at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, causing additional casualties.
Witnessing the devastation in az-Zawayda, eyewitness Abu Ahmed expressed widespread despair: “There is no ceasefire; there is nothing. We want a solution; we want to live in peace.”
The deadly strikes come as experts on Palestinian and Israeli affairs warn that the Israeli government is fabricating a security crisis around children's toys to undermine ceasefire agreements, push demographic changes, and secure Netanyahu's political survival.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement on August 23 threatening strong retaliation for the kites. They also threatened to forcibly displace Palestinians from areas “used as launchpads for kites, drones, and balloons.”
“There will be no return to the status quo before October 7, 2023,” the joint statement said, asserting that Israel would not allow Hamas or any other group in Gaza to “threaten our communities again or violate citizens' sense of security.”
However, the attacks came despite the Israeli military acknowledging that the seized kites contained no explosives and were simply flown by children. While the joint statement cited “kites, drones, and balloons,” military inspections confirmed only 10 paper kites were found—completely non-explosive and flown by children in displacement camps.
Palestinian political analyst Hussam Shaheen told Al Jazeera that the allegation of drones launched from Gaza is fabricated. “That is a false and baseless claim; it does not exist. It has been denied, and there is no evidence linking it to drones,” he said.
Adel Shadid, an expert on Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera that the threat was entirely invented by Hebrew media under military guidance. “There is clearly an intention to invest in and use these paper kites as a pretext, and the entire issue could be staged,” Shadid said.
Analysts highlighted the absurdity of Israel's claims about toys. “It is hard to believe that a nation that calls itself a nuclear-armed power would consider a paper kite flown by Palestinian children a security threat,” Shaheen said, pointing to the logistical impossibility of Israel's narrative: “70% of the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli military control, so how can one talk about paper kites crossing this entire space and posing a security threat?”
The sudden escalation coincides with Israel's rejection of the 15-point US-backed ceasefire roadmap that Hamas had accepted, leading experts to directly link the violence to upcoming elections scheduled for October. Polls show Netanyahu's chances of forming a government are nearly gone.
Experts emphasize that inflating the kite threat serves a dark strategic goal of reshaping demographic realities on the ground. “Netanyahu does not need to invent a big problem from paper kites; the main goal is to push Palestinians into displacement and evade any political commitments,” Shaheen said.
Suleiman Bisharat, a political researcher, explained that the government deliberately uses these flimsy pretexts to sow a state of psychological fear in Israeli society, rallying domestic support for disproportionate use of force. “True, we can consider these pretexts superficial and weak, but ultimately… Israel attaches them to the security equation,” Bisharat told Al Jazeera.
