Gaza peace board warns Hamas over kites after Israel threat

The US-led board overseeing President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan warned Hamas on Tuesday to stop kite flights and other militant activity, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to intensify operations in Gaza over kites, drones or balloons.

An official on Trump's Board of Peace, speaking anonymously, said all militant activity in Gaza had to stop, including flying kites, and that the message had been sent through an established mechanism. The official also said Israel must observe the ceasefire and that military action could not go beyond responses to genuine and imminent threats.

Netanyahu warned Hamas on Sunday that Israel would step up operations in Gaza if it launched kites, drones or balloons. The warning followed reports that several kites had been found across the Gaza border in southern Israel. The latest kites are not known to have carried explosives, although Israeli media reported that at least one carried a political message.

Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim criticised the warning, accusing the board of treating children's activities as armed activity and accusing Netanyahu of continuing to kill and destroy despite the agreement.

The United Nations rights office also criticised Israeli threats over the kites. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva that “the threat of expulsion due to children's kite flying” was outrageous.

The Board of Peace was set up by Trump to oversee a ceasefire declared in October. Gaza health authorities under Hamas, whose figures the United Nations generally considers reliable, say Israeli strikes since then have killed 1,288 Palestinians. On Monday, Gaza authorities said Israeli fire killed at least five people, including two children.

Netanyahu earlier this month rejected the latest stage in the Gaza peace plan after Hamas said it had agreed to disarm. He told Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner last week that a US general should verify the destruction of all Hamas weapons. The Board of Peace later assured him that Israeli troops did not need to leave Gaza until Hamas was completely demilitarised, after earlier calling for a phased withdrawal.