Peace Board Warns Against Flying Kites, Hamas Furious!
The Peace Board created by United States President Donald Trump, which oversees the Gaza peace plan, has warned Hamas not to fly kites. Hamas reacted angrily to the warning.
The warning followed Israel’s threat to launch retaliatory strikes against kites flown from the Gaza Strip into its territory.
“All militant activity in Gaza must stop, including flying kites. We have conveyed this message directly through established mechanisms,” said a Peace Board official, who declined to be named, as reported by AFP on Wednesday (26/8/2026).
“Israel must also comply with the ceasefire. Military action must not exceed the limits of a response to a real and immediate threat,” the Peace Board official stressed.
Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Sunday (23/8) that Israel would escalate military operations in the Gaza Strip if Hamas launched kites, drones or balloons.
The threat came after a number of kites were found crossing the Gaza border into southern Israel — an area whose residents remain traumatised by the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
The incident revived memories of kites and balloons fitted with incendiary devices that were once launched from the Gaza Strip.
The kites recently discovered by Israel were declared not to be carrying explosive payloads. However, local Israeli media reported that at least one kite carried a political message.
Hamas Condemns Peace Board Warning: Truly Insolent!
Hamas reacted strongly to the Peace Board’s warning. One member of Hamas’s political bureau, Basem Naim, vented his anger over the warning, calling the Trump-created Peace Board “truly insolent”.
“Truly insolent! Does it make sense that an effort to please the war criminal Netanyahu leads them to label the activities of innocent children as armed activity, while Netanyahu continues to kill and destroy every day despite the agreement?” Naim said.
Earlier on Tuesday (25/8), the United Nations called Israel’s threat regarding the kites unacceptable. The UN said the kites in question were flown by children in Gaza.
“Regarding the threat of expulsion due to children’s kite-flying activities, I hope we can all agree that this is truly outrageous,” stressed UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani to reporters in Geneva.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz previously threatened to carry out targeted killings and evacuate residential areas in the Gaza Strip in response to the launching of balloons and kites from the territory towards Israeli settlements. He accused Hamas of being behind the launches.