Israel warns of strikes, evacuations over kites launched by Palestinian children in Gaza

Israel warns of strikes, evacuations over kites launched by Palestinian children in Gaza Submitted by Ayse Betul Aytekin on Sun, 08/23/2026 - 19:51 Israeli officials hold a special security meeting over Gaza's paper kites, warning they would be treated as drones. Boys fly a kite against the backdrop of smoke rising from a shelter that houses displaced Palestinians, after an Israeli air strike in the west of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, 31 January 2026 (Bashar Taleb / AFP) Off Kites flown by Palestinian children in Gaza are now being cited by the Israeli military as justification for further strikes and displacement across the Strip. Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Sunday that Israel gave Hamas a three-day deadline to halt the kite launches, threatening a broad air assault if they continued, and said it would evacuate areas of Gaza from which balloons, drones and paper kites are launched.