Hamas says Israeli threats over kites in Gaza are justification for targeting children

Hamas said on Sunday that Israeli threats over kites being flown in the Gaza Strip were an attempt to justify continued attacks and threats against children.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in a statement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Sunday to step up assassination operations and displace Palestinians from areas of the Gaza Strip unless the launching of “balloons and kites” towards Israel stopped.

Children in Gaza use kites for play and recreation, particularly in displacement camps. Some of the kites reach Israeli areas bordering the Gaza Strip after their strings break and they are carried by air currents.

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Qassem warned of the danger of what he called Israeli occupation claims and threats over what Israel describes as the launching of kites, saying they are primarily children’s toys used in displacement camps.

“These threats, based on fabricated pretexts, are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people, ultimately threatening children in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Qassem called on “the US administration, mediating and guarantor countries, and the Board of Peace” to pressure Israel to stop what he described as the unchecked aggression against Palestinians and its efforts to undermine the ceasefire, which he said the Palestinian side was fully committed to.

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