Children play with marionette puppets made by Palestinian artist Mahdi Karera, during a show at a kindergarten in Gaza City, Jan. 29, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa.

A Palestinian puppeteer is tugging at heartstrings in Gaza.

At a kindergarten, Mahdi Karera, who describes himself as Gaza’s first marionette-maker, put on a show about the importance of reading.

An opening song-and-dance number featuring a clown, a cook, a teacher, a boy and a girl, drew cheers and laughter from the young audience.

“There has never been a marionette theater in Gaza,” Karera, 39, told Reuters. “Puppets have a role: they entertain people — children and adults. They promote positive values and change negative ones.”

Karera, who said he taught himself how to make and operate marionettes, has created 30 puppets out of wood, foam, plastic and metal wire in a workshop on his home balcony.

“I am strongly attached to them, they are like my kids,” he said.