Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has instructed the army to take the toughest possible action against the launching of balloons, kites or drones from the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
Katz was responding to the discovery of several kites in the Israeli border area with the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army's broadcaster, the military believes the terrorist organization Hamas is responsible.
However, no explosive or incendiary devices were found. An Arabic inscription on one of the kites was reported to have contained a threatening message stating that there would never be peace.
Katz had instructed the military to take all necessary measures to prevent future launches, including the killing of Hamas leaders responsible for them.
Katz also threatened to clear neighbourhoods and areas from which the launches originate, as well as to take "action against the terrorist infrastructure there." Katz stated that Israel would regard any such launch as an "act of war."
According to the army broadcaster, Israel believes that Hamas is using the kites to test a possible future launch of missiles that could be fitted with incendiary or explosive devices.
As part of the protests on the Gaza border, kites and balloons attached to flammable materials have been sent into Israel repeatedly since 2018. They caused numerous, sometimes devastating fires in the neighbouring Israeli areas.
At the time, the protests were directed against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which was supported by Egypt. The demonstrators also demanded a "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to locations in what is today Israel.
According to reports, residents of Israeli border towns expressed concern at the discovery of the new kites and called for decisive action by the army.
During the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, some of the attackers had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip using motorized paragliders. They used these to cross the border defences and attack Israeli towns and the site of the Nova music festival.
In response Israel launched more than two years of attacks on Gaza, in which tens of thousands of people have been killed in the coastal strip.