Children in Rafah flying kites to forget war, as Israeli military escalation looms in Gaza

Children in Gaza fly kites as military escalation looms. For these children, they said flying kites is a distraction from the reality of life in Rafah's tent city.

RAFAH AND LONDON -- In the sand dunes above Rafah in southern Gaza, a ricochet of children's laughter rings out, mixing with the unrelenting sound of Israeli reconnaissance drones. This odd combination can be heard most days as children from the tent city populated by the displaced gather to fly their kites, finding some joy amidst the horrors of war.

"We just forget everything, we make kites and fly them, we forget the bombing," 12-year-old Oday Abu Odeh told ABC News. "When we sit at home, the sound of the reconnaissance planes annoys us all, but when all of us here fly kites, we don't feel it."

Oday said they make their kites from whatever scraps they can find and run to the sand banks above the encampment to fly them whenever they can.

Flying his kite brings, "freedom and happiness," to 15-year-old Nael Muhammad Al-Najjar. "And we forget our worries," he told ABC News.