Israel accuses Gaza of launching drones, balloons and kites; responds with two airstrikes killing four-year old
At least two people, including a four-year-old boy, were killed and seven others wounded in two Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.This comes as Israel threatened to intensify attacks following what it said were launches of balloons, drones and kites from Gaza towards Israel.One of the strikes hit a building in the central town of Zawayda after the Israeli army warned the property’s owners to evacuate, residents said.Medics said flying debris and shrapnel scattered over an area spanning dozens of metres, injuring at least six people, including four-year-old Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital.“There is no ceasefire, there is nothing,” said Abu Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian sheltering near the building, which the airstrike reduced to a pile of mangled steel and concrete.“We want solutions, we want to live in peace,” he added, as cited by Reuters.The second airstrike struck the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, Palestinian health officials said.The strikes came as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would intensify targeted attacks against those responsible for launching drones, balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip if the launches did not stop immediately.Hamas, meanwhile, accused Israel of using children’s kites as a pretext to escalate “attacks” on Gaza.In a post on X, the prime minister of Israel’s official account said Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz held “a situational assessment this evening regarding the threat of drones, balloons and kites launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.”The meeting was attended by Chief of the General Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, the Head of the National Security Council and senior IDF officials.Israel issued a warning against Hamas that “if the launches toward Israel do not cease immediately, the IDF will act to increase targeted strikes against those responsible for the launches and will evacuate the population from areas used as launch sites for kites, drones, and balloons.”The developments came as US special envoy Jared Kushner said Washington had made significant progress during a nearly four-hour meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 17.The discussions focused on Gaza’s reconstruction, demilitarisation and Israel’s security concerns.
