Gaza. Fadi al-Arawi, a footballer in the Gaza Strip’s first division, has not been able to play on a field since professional sports competitions were suspended more than two years ago due to the destruction of the region and the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.
Like most residents of the coastal enclave, he no longer even has a home where he can watch the World Cup on television. As Saturday’s match between Qatar and Switzerland was about to kick off, he put on his old professional kit from Gaza Sports Club and the medals he had won in international competitions. He leaned over a flickering laptop in the dark, trying to get an internet signal to watch the game with a group of friends in a school room converted into a shelter for Gazans displaced by Israeli attacks.
“Look, this is the internet, it’s starting to fail and the game hasn’t even started yet,” said Al Arawi, 38, in Khan Younis, as Israeli drones whizzed overhead. “Can you hear the drones?” “We can live or die, we can be bombed.” Much of Gaza was destroyed and its infrastructure severely damaged during Israel’s two-year military offensive in the territory.
“Despite everything, we will watch the games,” he declared. Almost the entire population of more than two million Palestinians lives in a narrow strip of territory along the coast, mostly in tents and damaged buildings. Alaa Babli, who runs the Royal Cafe in Gaza City, installed two backup power lines and a backup battery to ensure that the evening games can continue to be broadcast once the fuel-powered generators shut down after midnight.
Hani Abu Rizq, who came to watch a game under the Egyptian and Moroccan flags hanging on the cafe wall, commented that the enclave’s residents are never free from fear when they go out. “The cafe could be a target,” he said. “Something next to me could be a target and I could lose my life, but despite everything we are suffering, we carry on and we will watch the games.”
The Association Palestinian Football says that among the 73,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since 2023 were around 1,000 athletes, ranging from children and fans of all sports to referees and professionals. Israel has also destroyed around 285 sports facilities; some were completely razed, others bombed. Israeli forces converted stadiums into detention camps, some of which became infamous for reports of mistreatment and abuse of prisoners held there. The iconic Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, where Al Arawi and other professionals played before thousands of spectators, is now a tent camp for displaced families.
“Since the war of extermination launched by Israel in 2023, Palestinian sport has been a prime target of the Israeli military machine,” said Mustafa Siam of the Palestinian Football Association.
Original article at La Jornada, June 17th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.