Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced this morning (Monday) that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and he have instructed the IDF to adopt a policy of zero containment and zero tolerance towards the launching of kites and balloons from Gaza to the Negev communities.
He said, "If the launches continue, powerful actions will be taken to put an end to the phenomenon.".
Katz clarified that, as far as he is concerned, there is no difference between the various launching methods: "A balloon and a kite are treated the same as a drone - with or without explosives.".
The Defense Minister 'stinged' his predecessor in office: "I am not Yoav Galant and I will not allow the policy of the evening of October 7th to repeat itself - neither from the air nor by approaching the fences.".
According to Katz, "In contrast to the method of repeated raids that he led in the war, which allowed Hamas to return to the same places over and over again, we acted together with the IDF and built a strong security zone, free of residents and terrorist infrastructure.".
He emphasized: "The IDF controls the territory to protect the fighters and the settlements - and we will not allow it to be bypassed in any way.".
