SAFA — Ramy Abdu, head of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, said portraying a harmless children’s activity, such as flying kites, as an alleged security threat reflects a recurring pattern in Israel’s approach to the Gaza Strip.

In a statement to Palestine newspaper, Abdu said ordinary civilian activities are increasingly being framed as security threats, raising concerns over the targeting and criminalization of children and other civilians in Gaza.

“This approach is used to divert attention from the nature of the aggression imposed on the Strip for years,” Abdu said, also pointing to Israel’s rejection of an agreed road map reached in Cairo.

He said the Israeli narrative surrounding the kites could provide political and media justification for further military escalation, which he said had already begun to take shape through intensified Israeli airstrikes in recent days.

From a legal perspective, Abdu said targeting or punishing children for playing conflicts with international protections afforded to children during armed conflicts.

He pointed specifically to Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes children’s right to rest, leisure, play and participation in recreational activities appropriate to their age.

Any criminalization or pursuit of children over recreational activities, particularly when promoted or endorsed by official or semi-official authorities, could amount to a violation of that right, Abdu said.

He described the Israeli measures as part of a broader punitive approach affecting even the most basic aspects of children’s daily lives in a territory already subjected to severe humanitarian restrictions.

Abdu called on European and international governments to move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete measures to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law.

He said Israel’s statements concerning the kites should be incorporated into complaints submitted to international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, as additional evidence concerning violations of Palestinian children’s rights.

Abdu also called for advocacy campaigns and political pressure in European parliaments, including solidarity initiatives in which children around the world could fly kites in support of children in Gaza.

His comments came after Israeli officials escalated their rhetoric over reports of kites being launched from Gaza, despite Palestinian denials that they were intentionally being used as weapons or to cause harm.

Israeli War Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the Israeli military, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to adopt a policy of “zero containment and zero tolerance” toward what he alleged was the launching of kites from Gaza.

Abdu said the controversy must be viewed against the broader humanitarian conditions facing children in Gaza.

He said more than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed during Israel’s genocide in Gaza, while hundreds remain missing and hundreds of thousands have been displaced amid catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

“In such circumstances, the most basic right for Gaza’s children is to be allowed to play without restrictions or coercion,” Abdu said.

He argued that treating children’s recreational activities as security threats risks normalizing restrictions on ordinary civilian life and further eroding protections afforded to children under international law.

The controversy comes amid renewed concerns over escalating Israeli attacks on Gaza and uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire and its next phase.