Fadi Al-Arawi, a footballer in the Gaza Strip Premier League, has not stepped onto a pitch since organized sport was suspended more than two years ago after the outbreak of war. Like many in Gaza, he no longer has a home where he can even watch the World Cup on television.
As a Group G match between Qatar and Switzerland was about to begin Saturday, Al-Arawi pulled on his old Gaza Sports Club uniform and medals earned in international competitions. He huddled in a dim room inside a school turned shelter for displaced families, trying to catch a weak internet signal on a flickering laptop alongside friends.
“See, this is the internet, it’s starting to cut out and the match hasn’t even started yet,” Al-Arawi, 38, told Reuters as Israeli drones buzzed overhead. “Can you hear the drones? We might live or die, we might be bombed.”
Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during Israel’s two-year military campaign launched after Hamas’ October 2023 attacks. Despite a truce announced in October 2025, strikes have continued, while Hamas has resisted calls to disarm in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal.
The conflict has left more than 2 million Palestinians confined largely to a narrow coastal enclave under Hamas control, where many now live in tents or damaged buildings amid widespread destruction of infrastructure.
For some, football remains a fragile link to normal life. In Gaza City, Alaa Babli, who runs the Royal Cafe, installed two backup power lines and battery systems to keep late-night matches on screen after fuel-powered generators shut down.
Hani Abu Rizq, who watched a match beneath Egyptian and Moroccan flags inside the cafe, said fear is constant even in moments of leisure.
“The cafe could be targeted,” he said. “Something next to me could be targeted and I could lose my life… But despite everything we are suffering, we are continuing, and we will watch the matches.”
The Palestinian Football Association says 1,000 athletes are among the more than 73,000 Palestinians killed since the war began in 2023. It also reports that roughly 285 sports facilities have been damaged or destroyed, including stadiums that were later converted into detention sites, allegations Israel denies.
Gaza’s Al-Yarmouk Stadium, once the enclave’s premier football venue, where Al-Arawi and other professionals played before crowds, now serves as a tent camp for displaced families.
“Since the Israeli war of extermination in 2023, Palestinian sports have been a primary target of the Israeli military machine,” said Mustafa Siam of the Palestinian Football Association, speaking to Reuters.
