Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
(26 Aug 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip - 26 August 2026
1. Close of children holding a kite
2. Various of displaced children playing with kite inside tent
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Atiya Abu Samhan, displaced person in Khan Younis:
“Our children, whose dreams have been shattered, even the simplest things, have lost everything. They've lost their simple dreams, their education, their childhood, the simple things they used to enjoy. The occupation has deprived them of even this simplest thing. A nuclear state is bombing our children in the Gaza Strip because of a kite that poses no threat to them whatsoever.”
4. Various of children playing with kite inside tent
5. Wide of man talking to children inside tent
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Imad Mortaja, displaced person in Khan Younis:
“This is a grave crime. The kite doesn't harm them in any way, yet they destroy entire residential blocks. My children were playing with a kite, when I heard them starting to bomb and threaten people who had kites. I smashed the kite for the safety of my children and those around me.”
7. Various of displaced children playing outside their tents
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Reem Abu Samhan, displaced from east of Khan Younis:
“The children are forbidden to play, forbidden to go out. If they go out, there's bombing. If they fly a kite, there's bombing. If they go to school, there's bombing. If they go to the beach to relax, there's bombing and even with a kite, they're forbidden to play with one. Day and night, the child begs while sitting in a tent. There's no television, nothing. No mobile phone, no tablet, nothing at all.”
9. Various of children playing
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samira Qahwaji, displaced from east of Khan Younis:
“This is a complete targeting of childhood. This is children's favorite game, a seasonal one. They make kites, play with it, and are happy watching them fly. This is their toy, like hopscotch and ball games. Our children are now deprived of all games. There are no play areas, no houses, no air conditioning, no electricity, no education, no healthcare, nothing. Our children have been deprived of everything.”
11. Man walking carrying a kite
12. Child breaking his kite
13. Various of tents of displaced people
14. Various of child looking at tents
STORYLINE:
Kites, once a familiar sight in Gaza's sky, have all but disappeared in the enclave since Monday, after the Israeli government threatened to strike areas from which "kites, balloons and drones" are launched toward Israel.
Fearing Israeli retribution, Palestinian parents are destroying the kites or hiding them inside their tents and homes to keep their children safe.
"My children were playing with a kite when I heard them starting to bomb and threaten people who had kites," said Imad Mortaja, a displaced father of three in Khan Younis.
"I smashed the kite for the safety of my children and those around me," Mortaja said. "The kite doesn't harm them in any way, yet they destroy entire residential blocks."
Israeli officials grew concerned after several kites were found in a kibbutz near the Gaza border, though none carried weapons or dangerous materials.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement Sunday, threatened to ramp up strikes unless Hamas ensures that drones, balloons and kites stop flying toward Israel.
The issue is sensitive in border communities because kites and balloons set aflame have in the past been launched across the border to ignite fields and property in southern Israel.
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(26 Aug 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip - 26 August 2026
1. Close of children holding a kite
2. Various of displaced children playing with kite inside tent
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Atiya Abu Samhan, displaced person in Khan Younis:
“Our children, whose dreams have been shattered, even the simplest things, have lost everything. They've lost their simple dreams, their education, their childhood, the simple things they used to enjoy. The occupation has deprived them of even this simplest thing. A nuclear state is bombing our children in the Gaza Strip because of a kite that poses no threat to them whatsoever.”
4. Various of children playing with kite inside tent
5. Wide of man talking to children inside tent
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Imad Mortaja, displaced person in Khan Younis:
“This is a grave crime. The kite doesn't harm them in any way, yet they destroy entire residential blocks. My children were playing with a kite, when I heard them starting to bomb and threaten people who had kites. I smashed the kite for the safety of my children and those around me.”
7. Various of displaced children playing outside their tents
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Reem Abu Samhan, displaced from east of Khan Younis:
“The children are forbidden to play, forbidden to go out. If they go out, there's bombing. If they fly a kite, there's bombing. If they go to school, there's bombing. If they go to the beach to relax, there's bombing and even with a kite, they're forbidden to play with one. Day and night, the child begs while sitting in a tent. There's no television, nothing. No mobile phone, no tablet, nothing at all.”
9. Various of children playing
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samira Qahwaji, displaced from east of Khan Younis:
“This is a complete targeting of childhood. This is children's favorite game, a seasonal one. They make kites, play with it, and are happy watching them fly. This is their toy, like hopscotch and ball games. Our children are now deprived of all games. There are no play areas, no houses, no air conditioning, no electricity, no education, no healthcare, nothing. Our children have been deprived of everything.”
11. Man walking carrying a kite
12. Child breaking his kite
13. Various of tents of displaced people
14. Various of child looking at tents
STORYLINE:
Kites, once a familiar sight in Gaza's sky, have all but disappeared in the enclave since Monday, after the Israeli government threatened to strike areas from which "kites, balloons and drones" are launched toward Israel.
Fearing Israeli retribution, Palestinian parents are destroying the kites or hiding them inside their tents and homes to keep their children safe.
"My children were playing with a kite when I heard them starting to bomb and threaten people who had kites," said Imad Mortaja, a displaced father of three in Khan Younis.
"I smashed the kite for the safety of my children and those around me," Mortaja said. "The kite doesn't harm them in any way, yet they destroy entire residential blocks."
Israeli officials grew concerned after several kites were found in a kibbutz near the Gaza border, though none carried weapons or dangerous materials.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement Sunday, threatened to ramp up strikes unless Hamas ensures that drones, balloons and kites stop flying toward Israel.
The issue is sensitive in border communities because kites and balloons set aflame have in the past been launched across the border to ignite fields and property in southern Israel.
Find out more about AP Archive: aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: instagram.com/APNews
You can license this story through AP Archive: aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/89e438f27e784068ab6a86f914b50f23
