The United Nations on Tuesday strongly criticized Israel’s warning that civilians could be evacuated from parts of Gaza where kites, drones and balloons are launched toward Israel, calling the language used by Israeli officials deeply troubling.
“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 in Geneva.
Israel warned Hamas on Sunday that it would intensify military operations in Gaza if launches of kites, drones and balloons toward Israel continued. The warning followed a recent rise in such incidents, although Hamas has rejected claims that it was responsible.
Israeli media reported that four kites were discovered in communities close to the Gaza border on Saturday, while the army intercepted another on Sunday. The developments brought the number of kites recovered in the area in recent days to roughly 10.
Channel 12 reported Monday that nine kites had been sent from Gaza toward IDF troops during June. The incidents were reportedly not made public at the time and did not prompt an Israeli military response.
The latest incidents have brought back memories of previous waves of incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza, some of which caused extensive fires across southern Israel.
Israeli military officials reportedly believe Hamas was responsible for the latest launches. The kites did not contain explosives and may have been intended to gauge how Israel would react.
“Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not stop immediately, the IDF will act to intensify strikes against those responsible for the launches and evacuate populations from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday in a joint statement.
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim rejected the Israeli accusations, saying the kites were “launched from Gaza by children searching for their innocent childhood amid the rubble.”
In another statement, Hamas accused Israel of treating the kite launches as a “pretext” to carry out airstrikes in central Gaza on Sunday. The Hamas-linked civil defense rescue service said three people were killed in those strikes.
The UN spokeswoman said the latest warning was part of what she described as a broader pattern of threatening statements by senior Israeli officials.
“We continue to see unacceptable rhetoric coming from the highest level of the Israeli authorities, showing utter contempt for international human rights and humanitarian law, and advocating and inciting violence amounting to atrocity crimes,” she said.
Katz has faced similar criticism before. He recently drew condemnation after saying that the IDF was “here to stay” in southern Lebanon and was “destroying all the houses” there.
The administration of US President Donald Trump quickly criticized those remarks. A State Department official said Katz’s comments appeared inconsistent with assurances from Jerusalem that Israel had no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.