Illustrative image, Via Shehab Agency
On June 9, the Israeli military announced that an Israeli aircraft “fired a warning shot” next to a group of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who were preparing balloons with explosive devices attached to them to be sent into the nearby Israeli settlement.
“The IDF views the use of incendiary balloons and kites with explosive devices attached to them with great severity and will operate to prevent their use,” the Israeli military said on Twitter.
The Palestinian Shehab Agency confirmed that an Israeli Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) targeted a group of Palestinian activists who were about to launch several kites east of the city of Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the news agency, the airstrike didn’t result in any casualties.
A day earlier, Palestinian activists launched several kits several kits carrying Molotov bombs at Israeli military positions around the Gaza Strip during the protests of the International Quds Day. One of the kites managed to down a mini drone that was being used by the Israeli military to monitor the protests.
Palestinian activists started using kites as a tool of protests after the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017. Israeli media claims that these kites, which usually carry Molotov bombs, have caused many fires in the Israeli settlements around the Gaza Strip over the last two months.
