In Gaza the art of kite making is punishable by death

Israel’s Minister of Defense, Yisrael Katz, today announced that kites being launched by starving Gazan children constitute an ‘act of war’ and that anyone flying these kites will be ‘dealt with forcefully’ (i.e. targeted and killed by Israeli drones, bombs and missiles). In Gaza the art of kite making is punishable by death.

Katz declared that kites, balloons, and even paper planes are considered national security threats to Israel, and will be considered the same as drones or missiles.

Why target children?

After years of a protracted genocide resulting in fierce protests globally against Israel’s mass murder of children in Gaza, critics say this latest policy is a move by Israel to justify indiscriminate child murder. The pattern of infanticide by Israel has been recognised in the context that Israel sees killing children as a more efficient way to wage war – because if all the children are dead, they won’t grow up to be adults who can resist the Israeli occupation and genocide.

Regardless of Israel’s reasons it is undeniable that this policy is simply rooted in unfathomable evil because now in Gaza the art of kite making is punishable by death.

The kite flying tradition in Gaza

For the children of Gaza, kite flying has become far more than a pastime—it has been a profound act of hope, resistance, and remembrance. On the beaches of the Mediterranean, where the sea meets a land defined by genocide and the relentless brutality of Israel, these fragile creations of paper, plastic, and string have risen into the sky as defiant symbols of freedom.

An act of hope

Gaza has a long and cherished history of kite-making and flying. Because commercially made kites are unavailable due to the decades long Israeli blockade, children have learned to craft them by hand from whatever scraps they could find—plastic bags, wooden sticks, and string. This tradition became a collective act of resilience.

A glimmer of life

In the scorching summer heat, when swimming in the sea gets you blown to pieces by Israeli drones and blockade ships, flying kites has been one of the few escapes. These kites, often adorned with the red, black, green, and white of the Palestinian flag, have been expressions of defiance and a longing for freedom. One young kite flyer has explained, “When we sit at home, the sound of the bombs annoys us all, but when all of us here fly kites, we don’t feel it” [4].

Whispers on the wind are all that remain

The cultural significance of this tradition reached a pinnacle on July 28, 2011, when more than 12,000 children gathered on Gaza’s beach to fly kites simultaneously, setting a Guinness World Record [3]. Most of those children have since been slaughtered by Israel and their remains crushed and bulldozed with rubble to form the foundations of the newly planned illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza. Described as a “David and Goliath moment,” it was a defining event that reflected the hopes and dreams of Gaza’s children to the world [4]. More recently, kite festivals have taken on an even deeper meaning, with children crafting kites bearing the names of peers killed in the genocide—a poignant memorial and a call for emancipation. But now In Gaza the art of kite making is punishable by death. [1][2].

The eternal Palestinian spirit

This spirit of hope amidst profound loss was powerfully captured in the poem “If I Must Die” by Dr. Refaat Alareer, a beloved Palestinian poet and professor who was assassinated by Israel in December 2023 [5][6]. Alareer follows in the tradition of another great Palestinian poet, the late Mahmoud Darwish. Written years earlier for his young daughter, Dr. Alareer’s poem connects the simple act of kite flying to the enduring power of love and storytelling:

If I Must Die

By Dr. Refaat Alareer

If I must die,

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made,

flying up above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale

In Gaza, the kite has been a thread connecting a child’s hand to the sky, carrying messages of freedom, memory, and an unyielding hope for a future where children can simply be children.

To remove this from the children of Gaza is to remove their last breath of hope. Pure evil.

References:

[1] American Friends Service Committee. “In DC and Rafah, people fly kites to memorialize those killed in Gaza and call for cease-fire.” AFSC.org, March 27, 2024. https://afsc.org/newsroom/dc-and-rafah-people-fly-kites-memorialize-those-killed-gaza-and-call-cease-fire

[2] ABC News. “Kite festival in Gaza offers children rare break from ongoing war.” ABCNews.go.com, March 29, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/International/kite-festival-gaza-offers-children-rare-break-ongoing/story?id=108629524

[3] Guinness World Records. “Most kites flown simultaneously.” GuinnessWorldRecords.com. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-kites-flown-simultaneously

[4] CUNY Academic Works. “We have a chance, and we have a dream, and nobody can confiscate our dream.” AcademicWorks-cuny-edu.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu. https://academicworks-cuny-edu.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6991&context=gc_etds

[5] Press TV. “Remembering Refaat Alareer: Gaza’s storyteller whose words turned pain into power.” PressTV.co.uk, December 6, 2025. https://www.presstv.co.uk/doc/Detail/2025/12/06/760117/remembering-refaat-alareer-gaza-storyteller-words-turned-pain-power

[6] University of Hawaii, Center for Biographical Research. “Refaat Alareer (1979–2023).” Manoa.hawaii.edu, January 3, 2024. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/cbr/2024/01/03/refaat-alareer-1979-2023/