UN rights office condemns Israel’s threat to expel Palestinians over flying kites and balloons
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "UN rights office condemns Israel’s threat to expel Palestinians over flying kites and balloons")
Boys fly a kite against the backdrop of smoke rising from the Gath shelter, that houses displaced Palestinians, after an Israeli air strike in the west of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip on January 31, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The UN Human Rights Office has condemned Israel’s threat to evacuate Palestinians from areas in Gaza where kites, drones and balloons are launched.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned Israel's threat to express Gazan from Palestinians areas as “outrageous” and an utter contempt for for internation human rights. Israel has told Hamas that it would intensify operations if balloons and kites are flown by bids from the besieged territory in Gaza.
“On the threat of expulsion due to children’s kite flying, I hope we can all agree that this is outrageous,” said Ravina Shamdasani, rights office spokeswoman, at a weekly press briefing.
In recent weeks, several kites without any incendiary device flew into southern Israeli communities. These incidents have evoked the memories of 2018, when kites and balloons with incendiary devices were launched from Gaza as a protest against the blockade in the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement on Sunday, said, “Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not cease immediately”, Israeli forces “will take action to intensify targeted operations against those responsible”. They “will evacuate the population from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched”, it added.
“We continue to see unacceptable rhetoric coming from the highest level of the Israeli authorities, showing utter contempt for international human rights and humanitarian law, and advocating and inciting violence amounting to atrocity crimes,” said Shamdasani, rights office spokeswoman. She also addressed the dire humanitarian crisis within Gaza, and despite a ceasefire, Israel continues to kill children almost regularly.
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“Despite the so-called ceasefire, Palestinians are being bombed, shot at, and killed every day in Gaza,” she said.
“The violations, suffering and misery being inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza cannot be ignored,” she added.
She urged third countries to push for the implementation of the ceasefire. More than 1,280 Palestinians have been killed since the agreement took effect in October, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
