JERUSALEM: The US-led board overseeing a Gaza peace plan on Tuesday urged Hamas to halt all militant activity, including kite flying, after Israel threatened retaliatory action.
“All militant activity in Gaza must stop, including the flying of kites. We have conveyed this message directly through the established mechanism,” an official from President Donald Trump's “Board of Peace” said on condition of anonymity.
The official also called on Israel to adhere to the ceasefire.
“Israel, too, must comply with the ceasefire. Military action cannot extend beyond responding to genuine and imminent threats,” the official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned that Israel would step up operations in Gaza if Hamas launched kites, drones or balloons.
The warning followed reports that a number of kites had been found across the Gaza border in southern Israel. The incident recalled previous use of incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza. The latest kites are not known to have contained explosives, although Israeli media reported that at least one carried a political message.
Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim criticized the warning conveyed through the Board of Peace.
“What audacity! Is it conceivable that attempts to appease the war criminal Netanyahu have led them to describe innocent children’s activities as armed activities, while Netanyahu continues to kill and destroy daily despite the agreement?” he said.
The United Nations also criticized the Israeli threats over the kites on Tuesday.
“On the threat of expulsion due to children’s kite flying, I hope we can all agree that this is outrageous,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The Board of Peace was established by Trump to oversee a ceasefire declared in October as part of efforts to end the Gaza conflict.
Since then, Israel has expanded its presence in parts of Gaza and continued military operations. Those operations have killed 1,288 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, whose casualty figures are generally considered reliable by the United Nations.
Gaza authorities said Monday that Israeli fire killed at least five people, including two children.
Netanyahu, who faces elections in October, rejected the latest stage of the Gaza peace plan earlier this month after Hamas said it had agreed to disarm.
Netanyahu expressed doubts about the commitment and told Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner last week that a US general should oversee verification of the destruction of Hamas's weapons.
Following Netanyahu's concerns, the Board of Peace said Israeli forces would not have to withdraw from Gaza until Hamas had been fully demilitarized. The board had earlier called for a phased Israeli withdrawal.