UN rejects Israel’s threat to expel Gaza residents over kite-flying

The United Nations has condemned Israel’s threat to expel Palestinians from areas of the besieged Gaza Strip where kites were being flown by children.

“On the threat of expulsion due to children’s kite flying, I hope we can all agree that this is outrageous,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters on Tuesday.

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Israel warned Hamas on Sunday that it would intensify military operations if kites, drones or balloons continue, saying those responsible would be targeted.

Several kites not carrying incendiary devices were reported to have drifted into southern Israeli communities over the last month. The incidents have evoked memories of incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza in 2018, in what Palestinians said was a protest against the Israeli blockade of the enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement on Sunday, said “Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not cease immediately”, Israeli forces “will take action to intensify targeted operations against those responsible”. They “will evacuate the population from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched”, it added.

Gaza’s popular committees, coordinating with Hamas authorities, urged parents on Monday to stop children flying kites, saying they were acting “to protect their innocent lives”.

“Every summer, my kid, Ahmed, and the kids in the street fly those kites to entertain themselves,” Umm Mohammed, a mother in Gaza City, told the Reuters news agency. “But [now] I will not allow him to – not any more.”

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, rejected the Israeli warning over the kites.

“Is it conceivable that attempts to appease the war criminal Netanyahu have led them to describe innocent children’s activities as armed activities, while Netanyahu continues to kill and destroy daily despite the agreement?”

The dispute comes amid a “ceasefire” in Gaza that has failed to halt Israeli attacks. More than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed since the agreement took effect in October, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.