Third time in recent months: kites from the Gaza Strip located in the Gaza Envelope
According to security sources, two additional kites were found in the area connected to strings 2–4 km long. Residents of the Gaza Envelope are concerned: "It is time to stop treating this as an isolated phenomenon."
Two kites with long strings were located last night in the Nahal Oz area, in an incident that joins a series of similar cases recorded in recent months in the Gaza Envelope.
According to security sources in the area, the two kites found were connected to strings between 2 and 4 kilometers long. At this stage, no explosives were found on them, but the security establishment is investigating the circumstances of the incident and their origin.
This is the third incident in recent times where kites of this type have been located in the area. Last week, two kites were found in a forest near Sha'ar HaNegev, and a few days earlier, another kite was located in the Negev fields, in the Shuva forest area.
In recent months, additional cases of kites have been identified in the Gaza Envelope areas. All incidents checked so far did not include explosives, but security sources note that this is a phenomenon that is being monitored.
A., director of the security department of a regional council in the Gaza Envelope, criticizes the kite phenomenon sharply:
"It is time to stop treating this as an isolated phenomenon. We sent a letter to security officials about half a year ago and did not receive a response."
The IDF continues as usual, the incident is under control.
But it must be understood that there are doubts among senior IDF officials regarding the aerial dimension, which among other things includes drones and kites. The absurdity is that now they are reinforcing camera technology in kibbutzim adjacent to the fence without the ability to detect and locate the aerial dimension of drones and kites. This may create a danger to the residents."
Nahal Oz responded:
"We view with severity the phenomenon of kites returning to us again; this is how it started before October 7. At first, seemingly innocent kites were sent from the Strip, with writing in Arabic; later, when Hamas realized that the kites were falling in our fields, they attached combustible materials to them, and thus thousands of dunams of wheat fields were burned. The continuation was explosive balloons intended to harm the citizens of the communities, and we saw how it ended. We demand that the security forces cut off the kite phenomenon while it is still in its infancy. We will not accept a policy of containment regarding our security."
The "Otef le-Otef" movement stated:
"Three kites in less than 24 hours - joining a series of similar events in recent times. One must not be mistaken and treat this as an innocent or isolated event. Against the backdrop of developments in the Strip, the security establishment must examine the phenomenon as a whole and understand who is operating it and for what purpose.
Residents of the Gaza Envelope already know well how a reality of containment begins: at first it is 'just a kite', then another, and later the exception becomes routine. After October 7, the State of Israel must not return to this pattern. We demand that the security establishment immediately investigate the origin of the kites, their purpose, and the connection between the recent events, and stop the phenomenon before it becomes established.
We will not return to a reality of containment. The security of the Gaza Envelope residents requires not only protecting against the threat today - but removing it so that we do not live alongside it tomorrow."
