Seven kites launched from Gaza were found in Israeli border communities over the past two weeks, including one near Kfar Aza on Sunday and four in the Nahal Oz area over the weekend.
Residents and local security officials say the kites mirror the early pattern seen before the 2018 incendiary-kite campaign, and field assessments cited in the report say children or teenagers likely flew them under Hamas direction.
Bar Manshuri, security chief for Sha’ar HaNegev, said the danger is normalizing seemingly harmless incidents after Oct. 7, warning the sequence could progress from plain kites to incendiary kites, explosive balloons and armed drones.
The Israel Gaza Envelope Forum said residents fear a return to the old "containment" approach more than the kites themselves, urging the IDF and state to keep an offensive posture and preserve trained local defense squads as evacuees return.