Kite Festival in Palestine

A girl with her homemade Mickey Mouse kite joins an attempt to break the world record for flying kites simultaneously on the Mediterranean beach of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip Photograph: Adel Hana/AP

A veiled Palestinian supervisor prepares to fly a kite Photograph: Adel Hana/AP

Thousands of kites dominate the sky on the beach in Beit Lahiya Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

Kites came in all colours including those of the Palestinian flag Photograph: Adel Hana/AP

The current Guiness world record stands at 967, set less than a year ago in Melle-Gronegau, Germany Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

Khalil el-Halabi, head of the education programme at the UNRWA, told reporters that 6,000 children had taken part in the event Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

The UNRWA was set up to provide relief for Palestinian refugees after the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948 and has since been providing education, relief and social services to over 4.6m registered Palestinian refugees Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuters

Thousands of children in the Gaza Strip sought to break the world record for kite flying in a rare moment of respite from the war-battered enclave's daily life Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

A girl in a UNRWA teeshirt flying a kite Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

UN officials said there was no question that the children had broken the world record but the attempt will have to go through the process of verification first Photograph: Adel Hana/AP