“This is not just about a kite, but about normalizing the situation,” Bar Manshuri, head of security for the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, said Sunday.
Seven kites launched from the direction of the Gaza Strip have been found in communities near the border over the past two weeks, and residents say they recognize the same pattern that preceded the wave of incendiary-kite attacks in 2018. “It’s not the colorful kites that worry us, it’s the process,” one resident said.
Another kite was found Sunday morning in agricultural fields near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, close to the Black Arrow memorial. Four others were found over the weekend in the Nahal Oz area. No incendiary or explosive materials were found attached to the kites, which authorities believe were launched from the northern Gaza Strip. Initial examinations in the field indicate that children and teenagers were flying the kites, according to the assessment cited in the report, with the activity believed to have been directed by Hamas commanders.
Manshuri said the incidents must be treated as an early warning rather than dismissed because the kites currently carry no explosives. “We need to identify the event, respond to it and understand that it also has an impact on residents’ resilience,” she said.
“Residents of Kfar Aza are only now beginning to return home, and from our perspective this is not just a kite. We need to look at what the next steps could be, which is why we are raising the flag now. As the saying goes, the writing is on the wall. Now the writing is in the sky.”
She called for clearer and more proactive security measures. “The biggest danger is that this will become normalized because there is no incendiary or explosive material attached to the kites,” Manshuri said.
“We have to make sure we are not surprised because we thought a kite with nothing attached was just children playing. The military and the state cannot normalize this. You cannot tell us, ‘It will be fine,’ or ‘We have it under control.’ Not after October 7. It significantly damages public trust.”
The kite found in Be’eri on Saturday
The kite found last week
Manshuri warned that failure to respond now could lead to a familiar escalation pattern. “If there is no solution, the next thing will be an incendiary kite, then explosive balloons and after that drones, including drones carrying explosives,” she said. “We want to stop this on our terms, not according to Hamas’ timetable.”
She said residents appreciate the IDF and security forces operating in the area, but argued that policy must remain offensive and proactive rather than reactive. “It is important that we do not assume that because we control 60% of the Strip, everything is fine and calm,” she said. “We always have to think one step ahead.”
Bar ManshuriPhoto: Gadi KabaloManshuri also stressed the need to maintain local defense capabilities as residents return to Gaza-border communities. “In the end, those who responded to the attacks were the local defense squads, community security coordinators and their deputies,” she said.
“We want to make sure every community has a trained and armed force. Their job is ultimately to protect the communities from every security threat. That requires personnel, training and drills. It is important to preserve readiness and not reduce manpower. We always have to think about the next threat.”
She added that public confidence depends on the state responding even to seemingly minor incidents. “It is important that the public believe the state and everyone responsible for the security of Gaza-border residents will do everything necessary to protect them,” she said. “A small incident requires a response. We do not want to wait for a large, uncontrolled event that causes serious harm.”
The Israel Gaza Envelope Forum, which represents residents of communities near the Strip, said residents are less concerned about the kites themselves than about what it described as an approach of containment.
“Residents of the Gaza border are not worried about the kites, but about IDF statements that reflect the old containment mindset: ‘These are children, there are no explosives attached, we are monitoring it,’” the forum said.
“Hamas will keep adjusting to the IDF’s pace because there is no mechanism stopping it, exactly as happened before the massacre.”