Incendiary kite

Kites were first used in warfare by the Chinese.[5][6] During the Song dynasty the Fire Crow, a kite carrying incendiary powder, a fuse, and a burning stick of incense was developed as a weapon.[7] Walter de Milemete's 1326 De nobilitatibus, sapientiis, et prudentiis regum treatise depicts a group of knights flying a kite laden with a black-powder-filled firebomb over the wall of a city.[8] According to Samguk Sagi, in 647 Kim Yu-sin, a Korean general of Silla rallied his troops to defeat rebels by using flaming kites which also scared the enemy.[9] In the 17th century, the forces of Thai king Phetracha tied gunpowder barrels to kites used for airborne assault.[6]

Burned fields by arson kite near Kibbutz Be'eri

During the 2018 Gaza border protests Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have flown fire bomb kites over the Israel–Gaza barrier, setting fires on the Israeli side of the border,[10][11][12][13] Since the beginning of May 2018,[14] longer range helium filled incendiary balloons, devised from party balloons and condoms, have been used alongside the kites.[15][16][17] In one instance, a falcon outfitted with a harness with flaming material at the end was utilized as well.[18]

As of 10 July 2018, incendiary kites and balloons have started 678 fires in Israel, destroying 2,260 acres of woodland and 1,500 acres of agricultural fields as well as causing additional damage to open fields.[19]

The use of fire bomb kites and balloons from Gaza is arguably a war crime under International Humanitarian Law. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross Customary International Law study Rule 84. The Protection of Civilians and Civilian Objects from the Effects of Incendiary Weapons. If incendiary weapons are used, particular care must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.[20]

The prohibition can be sourced to Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977. Article 51 Any use of incendiary weapons in the course of hostilities must, however, comply with the IHL prohibition on indiscriminate attacks, in particular the prohibition on attacks which employ a method or means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective, or the effects of which cannot be limited as required under IHL, as well as the specific prohibition on area bombardment, the prohibition on disproportionate attacks, and the requirement to take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental harm to civilians.[21]

• Incendiary balloon