Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Monday morning that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have instructed the IDF to adopt a policy of zero containment and zero tolerance toward the launching of kites and balloons from Gaza toward communities in the Negev.
According to Katz, if the launches continue, powerful measures will be taken to put an end to the phenomenon. Katz clarified that, as far as he is concerned, there is no distinction between the various launch methods.
"The law for balloons and kites is the same as that for drones - with or without explosives," he warned.
Slamming his predecessor, Katz said: "I am not Yoav Gallant, and I will not allow the policy from before October 7 to return - not from the air and not through approaches to the fences."
"Unlike the method of repeated raids that he led during the war, which allowed Hamas to return again and again to the same places, we worked together with the IDF and built a strong security zone cleared of residents and terrorist infrastructure."
He added that the IDF controls the area in order to protect troops and communities, "and we will not allow it to be bypassed in any way."
His comments came after four kites were located in the Gaza envelope within 24 hours of each other. According to the defense establishment's assessment, Hamas is directly behind the launches and is using children and teenagers in an effort to test Israel's response patterns and study the area.
For the first time since the wave of incendiary balloons in 2018-2019, residents of the Gaza envelope were instructed not to approach or touch kites, clusters of balloons, or drones. The defense establishment assesses that the kites could soon also carry explosives.
Security officials said the kites are launched using an especially long string and are being used, according to them, to gather intelligence ahead of a broader operation using fiber-optic drones.
"We are monitoring the kites, continuing the policy of targeted eliminations, and the message is that we will also reach those behind the launching of these kites," they said.