Overview
- Senior Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held a security assessment on Sunday and ordered the military to intensify interdiction of drones, balloons and kites launched from the Gaza Strip.
- Netanyahu instructed the defense establishment and the IDF to strike incoming aerial threats, target operators and hit launch sites as needed to protect Gaza-border communities.
- Katz directed the IDF to take all necessary measures to stop launches toward the western Negev and named possible steps including targeting responsible Hamas figures and evacuating areas used for launches.
- The government framed every launch from Gaza as an act of war and said Israel has been developing counter-drone solutions for years, citing recent drone use in Ukraine, Lebanon and Iran as part of a wider threat pattern.
- The orders so far are operational directives and public warnings rather than reports of large-scale strikes or confirmed mass evacuations, so the key developments to watch are any follow-through military actions and changes to civilian movement near launch zones.