For 11-year-old Abdul-Hadi Arafat, a displaced resident from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, the simple act of crafting kites from wooden sticks, nylon bags, and string was a vital source of happiness. His mother, Salwa, recalls that he found immense joy in watching children run through their neighbourhood flying his creations. However, that sense of normalcy vanished on August 23, when Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered military forces to take immediate and forceful action against kites, balloons, or drones launched from the enclave.
The directive followed an incident where four kites from Gaza drifted into the Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz. While the Israeli military had previously acknowledged that no suspicious materials were found attached to such kites, the new order transformed the pastime into a source of profound fear. For children like Abdul-Hadi, the kite became a symbol of danger rather than play. His mother describes how he sat and tore his kites apart while crying, feeling as though he were losing the last shred of his childhood. His father had already been killed earlier in the conflict.
This sentiment is echoed by families across the region. Eight-year-old Mohamed Mostapha also destroyed his kites, fearing he would be targeted by Israeli forces. His grandmother, 66-year-old Kariman Abu Ras, notes that the children of Gaza have already been stripped of schools, parks, and safe spaces, leaving them with almost no options for play. In response to the military order, local popular committees and non-profit organizations coordinated with authorities to urge parents to stop their children from flying kites, emphasizing that the request was intended to protect innocent lives rather than further restrict their childhood.
The emotional toll is significant. A widely circulated video captured a boy named Muhammad Ahmad al-Mufti weeping as he destroyed his kites on rubble-strewn ground. Alaa Skafi, director of the Al-Dameer Foundation for Human Rights, argues that such military threats against children’s play items risk blurring the lines between civilians and combatants. He characterizes the rhetoric as a call to endanger children, noting that it violates the special protections afforded to minors under Article 77 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.
Psychological experts warn of the long-term impacts. Psychologist Dalia Sukkar explains that children require a clear distinction between safe and dangerous environments to regulate their nervous systems. When common play items are associated with the threat of being targeted, children may enter a state of hypervigilance. If these conditions persist, experts fear the emergence of withdrawal, behavioural disorders, and severe emotional regulation difficulties.
The loss of kite flying is merely the latest erosion of childhood in Gaza. Toy vendor Omar el-Khodary reports that standard toys like plastic cars, aeroplanes, and building sets have become virtually impossible to source due to tight restrictions on goods. Items that do arrive are often salvaged from fabric shipments, forcing parents to sew stuffed toys by hand. Building blocks that were once affordable now cost between 250 and 300 shekels, making them inaccessible to most families.
Educational opportunities have also been severely curtailed. Since October 2023, approximately 658,000 students have missed three consecutive academic years of in-person schooling. The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has delayed the start of the current academic year to September 19, and the UN has warned that children could lose up to five years of education if the war continues. Furthermore, nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced, and access to 65 percent of the territory is now restricted.
The threat against kite flyers coincides with ongoing violence. On the same day the directive was issued, an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda killed two people. Subsequent attacks have claimed more lives, including two children, and destroyed historic infrastructure. With estimates of child amputees ranging from 1,000 to over 4,000 since October 2023, and reports indicating an average of one child killed daily in the 300 days following the October 2025 ceasefire, the environment remains one of constant peril for the enclave’s youngest residents. The report also notes that his mother, Salwa Arafat, said, it kept him busy and brought joy not only to him but to other children around him. The report also notes that in July 2011, children in the enclave set a Guinness World Record for the most kites flown simultaneously. The report also notes that “It’s terrifying for our children,” Abu Ras, 66, said. The report also notes that toy vendor Omar el-Khodary, 35, said that regular shipments of toys have disappeared entirely.