'Stop bombing Gaza': Banksy art featuring war drones stolen soon after installation in London

A red stop sign featuring three military drones — the latest artwork by the mysterious British graffitist Banksy, which his followers believe was a reference to the Israeli war brutalities in Gaza — was stolen from the Peckham neighbourhood of south London in London in less than an hour after he verified its installation on Friday.

The thief brandishing bolt cutters took the artwork in broad daylight while onlookers took pictures and videos of the theft

Banksy's art has brought in tens of millions of dollars whenever it has sold.

“I went there thinking that people want that, I wanted to see it before something happened to it," a man who only wanted to be known as Alex told the Press Association.

A man in a red and black jacket came up on a bike next to the post the sign was affixed to, and he pounded it with his hands. He was one of the many witnesses who stared in shock.

“We said, ‘What are you doing?’ but no one really knew what to do, we sort of just watched it happen," Alex said. “We were all a bit bemused; there was some honking of car horns.”

After leaving, the worker came back a short while later with bolt cutters to complete the task. After helping to steady the Lime rental bike he was standing on, another man took it off and fled.

Many people believe that Banksy is spreading political messages with his street art. Many of his Instagram followers took his most recent post to be a demand for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.