Vandals burn UNRWA site where Gaza kids break record

No one injured in attack; kite fliers attempt to break world record by launching 15,000 kites along shores of Mediterranean.

By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN / THE MEDIA LINE, JPOST.COM
Gaza children 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Israel Picture Servi)
Gaza children 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Israel Picture Servi)
A group of men early Thursday morning vandalized the UNRWA facility in the Gaza Strip where, in the afternoon, thousands of children apparently set a world record for the largest kite-flying event in history.
No one was injured in the attack, although part of the facility was set on fire and a United Nations flag was burned, the WAFA news agency reported.
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Organized by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the kite fliers tried to launch 15,000 kites along the shores of the Mediterranean. They hoped to break the world record set by China in April when kite enthusiasts in Shandong province flew 10,465 kites.
“Taking on the might of China is a daunting feat for the children of Gaza,” Christer Nordahl, UNRWA acting director in Gaza, said earlier in the day. “I have no doubt that the kids of Gaza will smash this record and achieve world record glory.”
“The stage is set for another dramatic piece of world record mega-theater,” said Chris Gunness, the UNRWA spokesman.
“The kites will provide another iconic reminder of the beauty and potential of these children, despite the injustices they face,” Gunness said.
This summer, UNRWA summer camps already broke world records for the most people flying parachutes from the ground, dribbling soccer balls simultaneously and producing the world’s largest ever handprint painting.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.