My Word: The 'fight or flight' kite dilemma - opinion
The world media is full of sob stories of poor refugee children threatened by Israeli might. That Israeli children are learning to be wary of kites and balloons, does not seem to bother them.
In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, kites are no longer symbols of innocent childhood fun in Israel. Instead, they have become weapons used in physical and psychological warfare. Over the past two weeks, more than ten kites from Gaza have landed in southern Israel, each carrying a message rather than one of peace. These kites are not harmless toys but rather a twisted homage to the 2018 Hamas kite campaign, which preceded the October 7, 2023, invasion and resulted in a horrific atrocity.
In 2018, Hamas used kites, helium balloons, and even condoms attached to incendiary devices and explosives to float across the border into Israel, destroying thousands of dunams of agricultural land, forests, and nature reserves, as well as much of the wildlife that lived there. The only blame Israel faced was for its retaliation.
This time, it is claimed the kites are just "children's toys" from Gaza refugee camps and warn Israel against taking threatened actions. However, these "toys" are attached to strings - in some cases 4 km.-long - and decorated with threatening slogans in Arabic.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
