Hamad al-Siksik, a Palestinian boy currently living in Rafah, is busy every day making kites for the displaced children in the southernmost city of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
"It's the first time since the outbreak of the current war in Gaza that we see kites finding their way into the sky," said the 14-year-old boy. "They've brought us some fun, despite all the dire circumstances."
A month ago, Al-Siksik made the first kite to play with his siblings in their refugee camp, a move that motivated other children to buy kites.
The children's demand inspired al-Siksik to start a kite-making business in order to make some money for his 15-member displaced family to tide over the difficult time.
"The situation is very difficult here. I barely can earn about 10 U.S. dollars a day, and such amount cannot even buy rice for my family," he said.
Despite that, al-Siksik said he still felt happy as he had helped bring happiness to other children.
"I hope that one day, we will be able to move as freely as these kites," the boy said. "We are tired of war and death in Gaza. We have the right to live like children in other parts of the world, fearless of the circumstances we'll be living in for the rest of our life."
Samed Yassin, a displaced Palestinian man from Gaza City, said he was happy to see his youngest son Wajih flying kites with his friends.
"My child's participation in such games helps him get rid of the psychological pressure he suffers from the endless explosions in the Gaza Strip. It also gives him the opportunity to realize that life will go on and the war will end one day, and we will return to our normal lives," the 35-year-old father of three said.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been launching a large-scale military offensive against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of 28,176 Palestinians and wounded 67,784 others, mostly women and children, according to figures released by the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday.
The conflict began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, during which about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
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