This is an entry from: Gaza live: Concerns about all-out regional war rise following Golan Heights deadly attack
Olympics begins under shadow of Israeli obliteration of Palestinian sport
26 July 2024 20:04 BST
Al-Salah Club in Deir al-Balah is one of very few sporting facilities in Gaza still standing.
“The club is now a sanctuary… displaced people come to take shelter inside it,” Sobhi Mabrook, the second tier football club’s coach, tells Middle East Eye.
“We thought of resuming sports activities, but we couldn’t. It’s unfeasible. This is a symptom of Israel’s war on Gaza, particularly on sports.”
Al-Salah, once a training facility for hundreds of athletes, was an incubator of different sports, including judo, karate, handball and wrestling. But all that changed when Israel’s onslaught on Gaza began on 7 October.
Israeli bombs have killed many of the club’s talented stars.
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