Despite the fact that the primary focus of this blog is the history of Palestinian sports, we feel compelled to devote significant effort to highlighting the suffering experienced by Palestinian sports and athletes due to the genocide in Gaza. Israel is mercilessly violating the human rights of the Gazan people every single day by committing atrocities against them. Every aspect of sport, athletes, sport administrators, and sport journalists has been heavily impacted by Israel's genocide.
Nelly Masri, one of
Palestine's most respected sports journalists, conducted these interviews with
athletes and their relatives to capture their stories. Nevertheless, I thought
it would be worthwhile to publish these articles on this blog in order to make
them more accessible to everyone. This is proof that what's going on in Gaza is
beyond our comprehension. It has been noted that UN expert Francisca Albanese
describes Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people as one of the
cruelest in modern history.
Taking part in sport is not just about a recreational or competitive
activity, it's much more than that. It's about a past and future, a memory and
aspirations, belonging and self-esteem, success and failure, dedication and
even a way of life. S
Palestinian
Weightlifting Champ Hussein Odeh Loses Three Kids
By Nelly Masri
Hussein Odeh's life completely turned upside
down one night, and the winds blew in the opposite direction of anything he
wanted to achieve in his life, and his dreams were crushed. On May 17, 2025,
the Israeli occupation authorities issued a military order to evacuate the area
east of the Jabalia camp, which is located north of the Gaza Strip. So he moved
with his family into a tent in Gaza City.
In grief Odeh said: “The occupation forced
the residents of Jabalia camp to evacuate the area east of the camp, and
despite the fact that it is not close to my place of residence, I prepared my
belongings and necessities with the help of my wife in order to relocate my
family to the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood south of Gaza City in order to ensure
their safety. In order to get to Gaza City, we had a driver waiting for us. With
my children standing beside me I waited outside the door at 12:00 noon. As soon
as the driver called, I headed toward the street entrance to bring him home. It
was not until a few minutes later that I realized that my children had entered
the house to inform their mother that the driver had arrived."
Hussein was only a few meters away from the
house. It was not long after he heard the sound of a missile hitting the ground
that he turned around before he could reach the driver. In the aftermath of the missile's impact,
a thick cloud of smoke appeared from his house, which covered the entire area
and shook it. He couldn't figure out where it came from. As soon as he
returned, he broke through the smoke, screaming for his children as he stormed
through. From the beginning, it seemed clear to him what had happened. He
kneeled down, losing what remaining strength he had left after the house was
bombed, killing his children and injuring his wife. Despite calling out their
names and continuing to call them out, no one answered his calls.
"I
don't know why the house was bombed. Even though I tried to flee, but the
situation was not too dangerous. The place was still packed with
families." It is clear that now he feels a much greater amount of pain
than ever. "What hurts me the most is that my children were getting dressed
and we were packing our things after a difficult night of bombing and
evacuation orders. The journey we were supposed to take turned out to be a
funeral instead of a displacement."
Sadly,
this wasn't the only loss that Palestine's champion had to endure. The Israeli
aircraft bombed his home thirteen days after the occupation launched its
genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which was launched on October 7, 2023. The
tragedy led to the death of his 6-year-old daughter, Iman, his mother, his two
sisters, and his brother, Omar, who had Down syndrome.
"The
wound never heals. At the time of the first bombing, I was with my kids on the
first floor. My daughter Iman was with her grandmother when they bombed the
ground floor, so she died with her. Since the beginning of the war, I have been
living in great pain as a result of the war. The loss of my daughter, my
mother, and my siblings was very painful. After that, I was relocated to
schools and shelter camps. After the ceasefire in January 2025, I returned to
the area to live among the rubble. My belief was that the war was over, but it
came back and took all my children."
Hussein lost all three of his kids. He
pulled his wife from the rubble, suffering multiple fractures and needing
medical treatment abroad. As a result, his home was also demolished. It is
worth noting that earlier the occupation forces had demolished a gym he had set
up for bodybuilding and fitness, which was open to camp residents of all ages.
It was a three-story gym with separate sections for children, women, and men,
as well as separate appointments for each of them. With the help of his father,
who had saved money when he worked for the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), he was able to establish the project. In
the footsteps of their father, his three children dreamed of becoming
bodybuilding champions just like their father, but their dreams were cut short prematurely.
Hussein Odeh has been training and
practicing this sport day in and day out since 2008 until he was able to carve
his name among the top ranks in his sport. During his first participation in
the Gaza Strip in the game in 2013, he came in second place, and then he won
first place in 2015 and 2019 in the Gaza Strip. After that, he won first place in
the "Classic" category in his first international competition in
Lebanon in 2023. This was his first international participation. As part of the
same game, he also advanced in the Asian Professional Championship in the same
year. In the twenty days prior to the war, after victory and travel, he
returned to Gaza, but during that time he suffered through war tragedy.
As
he says of his broken dream: "I had a deep passion for this sport, and the
club I founded was my biggest dream. It was opened for a year and a half,
offering the citizens of the camp a nominal membership fee. It was a true
success story; it became a second home for me. My children have grown up on
this dream and have practiced sports since they were infants."
Hussein asked each of his children to tell
him about their dreams. Khaled chose to be a doctor like his uncle. Youssef
decided to be a bodybuilding champion like his father. Mohammed, the youngest,
wanted nothing more than toys. His
daughter chose to be a teacher like her aunt. Iman, chose to be a teacher like
her sister. There was much excitement among them as they eagerly awaited the
end of the war so they could have a family trip to the beach and fly a kite
together. This was far from bombing and warplanes. In the end, they left this
life without fulfilling the dreams they had for themselves.
The atrocities committed by the Israeli
forces in Gaza have gone beyond the imagination of the Holocaust and have
overtaken it. In the course of their reporting, many journalists and observers
stated that they had never seen such brutality anywhere in the world as they
witnessed in Gaza.
There
have been over 950 child deaths in the last two months, according to a report
from UNICEF published in May 2025. Furthermore, the report went on to state
that the children were starving, displaced, and subjected to indiscriminate
attacks as a result of the conflict.
In
armed conflicts, children are protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention. It is
imperative that they are treated with special respect and that they are
protected from harm. According to the conventions, it is essential to provide
them with the care and assistance they require, with the emphasis on protecting
them from hostilities and keeping the unity of their families intact at all time.
Malak, a Victim of the Baqa’ Cafe Massacre
By Nelly Masri
On June 30, 2025, the Israeli occupation
bombed the Al-Baqaa Coffee Shop on Gaza Beach. As a result of the bombing, a
number of young men and women were killed, as they had been seeking a work
space, charging their phones as there was no electricity or internet, and
holding business meetings with colleagues amid the ongoing Gaza genocide which
began on October 7, 2023.
The
bombing resulted in the death of Malak Musleh (19 years old), a member of the
Palestinian boxing national team who was one of the victims. Earlier that day,
she had just finished a business meeting with her colleagues at the institution
in which she worked. After the meeting, she waited for her close friend. Within
a quarter of an hour, a massacre took place, and they both died in the same
accident.
In
the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, west of Gaza City, Malak's family
took refuge in Abdullah Ibn Hayyan School. It was after the genocide war began
that their home was destroyed and they had lost everything they owned. As a
result of the ceasefire that ended in January 2025, they returned to Gaza
following their displacement journey.
Her mother, Umm Ziad Musleh, 41, cried as she
spoke about her daughter’s martyrdom. Holding her phone filled with pictures of
her daughter, she clutched it tightly. "Malak was always up early in the
morning so that he would be on time for work, and she wouldn't eat breakfast
for fear of being late. As it happened, on this particular day, I suggested to
her that she eat breakfast because she was late returning to school (her
displacement place). It was astonishment to me that I had been so relentless
and unjustifiably insistent on her that day. Why did I insist so much? "I
didn't realize it was a farewell breakfast," she sighed and cried.
Talking to Malak's mother was hard
after she lost her daughter two days ago. At times she would cry bitterly, at
other times she would recall her beautiful moments and smile despite the pain
she was feeling. Despite her young age, Malak was ambitious, persevering, and a
life lover. As a member of the Gaza boxing team, she continued her journey,
regardless of the difficulties she faced. According to her mother, when Malak
learned about boxing in Gaza for the first time, she wanted to participate. She
tried to convince me to allow her to practice this kind of sports.
“She and her
sister Rawand, who was only fourteen years old at the time, were supported by
me and her father. However, several of her relatives and neighbors criticized
her for taking up such a physical activity, because we lived in a working-class
neighborhood that rejected such an activity, namely boxing. It was considered a
sport for young men only. I would respond to them by saying that this is a
family matter, and we support our daughters." Umm Ziad returned to Malak's
phone, flipping through her sports photos, hugs the photos like they were still
there, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she did so.
"I am extremely proud of my daughter. In
every aspect of her life, she was exceptional, even among the five sisters she
had. All her tournaments, I was there. First place was always hers. When she
put on her gloves and helmet and struck her opponent hard with successive
blows, I was filled with utter joy. Her opponent was knocked out. Her beauty
was evident in every way when she was crowned champion."
Malak became a
boxing icon in Gaza after gaining the trust of her coach and teammates. As a
result of her energetic leadership and ability to assist the team as a coach,
the team was able to achieve success. Malak’s mother confirms this by saying:
"Malak was a distinguished boxer. She used to take one of the heavy punch bags and hang it in the house so that she could train tirelessly whenever possible. With her coach's confidence, she was entrusted with training young girls, and she was happy to hear that she had succeeded. In the end, she was selected to play for the Palestinian national team due to her outstanding performance. Prior to the Gaza war, she was supposed to participate in one of the Arab tournaments. However, all of her dreams were destroyed by the genocidal war."
Malak's joys were never complete. Her mother
explained that "my daughter could not celebrate her wedding. Her
engagement took place in September 2024, during our displacement. As soon as we
returned to Gaza, her wedding was postponed multiple times. She was certain
that she would marry on June 30th, and she insisted that she would get married
on that day. I remember her telling me, 'I will be a bride today’. However, due
to the fact that her apartment was not ready, it was postponed until July 5th.
In the end, she leaves this life with incomplete dreams."
It was
in 2023 that Malak completed his high school education and applied to a
university to study computer engineering. Obviously, it was online. It came as
a surprise to everyone when she changed her major to journalism and media. Her
mother explained the nature of Malak's personality as follows: "Malak was
a sensitive person who felt for everyone and for the suffering of people. I
remember how she used to tell me that her favorite thing to do was to convey
the suffering of others. For this reason she went into journalism and media.
The videos she made about difficult circumstances and conditions, and sometimes
bombings were extremely expressive, and she posted them on social media. As a
journalist, Malak saw herself as someone who covered events, but she has now
become a part of the event when she became one of the victims of the Israeli
genocide in Gaza.
In the
third day of the genocidal war, Malak was injured by the occupation's bombing of
their home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, west of Gaza City, during the
occupation's bombing campaign. Malak and her family were on the fifth floor of
their home when an Israeli aircraft dropped an explosive barrel on their home.
As a result of the barrel bomb landing on the third floor, Malak was hit in the
head and bled profusely. The second time, on June 15, 2025, she sustained minor
injuries while walking the street during an Israeli airstrike that occurred at
the time. The third time, she lost her life with other young people in the cafe.
There is a clear
prohibition in Article (3) of the Fourth Geneva Convention against attacks on
the physical integrity of protected persons, including murder, mutilation, and
torture. The purpose of this convention is to ensure that civilians are
protected during times of war as well as to ensure the respect for basic human
rights under these difficult circumstances.
Sports Center in a
Displacement Tent
By Nelly Masry
There is no doubt that the genocide
committed by Israel in Gaza, as well as the harsh living conditions under which
Palestinians live, have not been able to eradicate the desire of Palestinian
athletes to stay physically fit in spite of the genocide that has been
committed. Additionally, they have also dreamed about the future and how one
day they will be able to achieve what they have always wished for.
A
29-year-old man, Ribhi Maghari, is married with a one-and-a-half-year-old
child, and has been forced from the Rafah Governorate to the Mawasi area of
Khan Yunis as a result of the Israeli attack
on Gaza. As soon as he settled in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis after multiple displacements,
first from Rafah to the Mawasi area of Khan
Yunis, then to Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, and then returning to Rafah
after the truce concluded in January 2025; has been displaced again after the
war resumed last March, and he has been relocated to the Mawasi area in Khan
Yunis. In order to maintain his physical fitness, he decided not to give up and
turned his tent into a sports center. As well as dealing with the difficult
psychological conditions he was experiencing, he decided to cope with them as
well.
In one corner of the tent, there was a
line of gallons of water that were ready to use. There was a car battery in the
middle of the tent, which was used for lighting. A few mattresses were left of the tent's space, which Ribhi and his family
used.
"I
went through difficult psychological circumstances that affected me. The
displacement and martyrdom of some of my friends, including Akram Musa, a
football player for the Maghazi Services Club, as well as the travel of some of
my friends outside the Gaza Strip. These painful separations almost made me
live in despair, but I overcame my grief and said no," says Ribhi
He continues: "I started exercising
inside the tent, because there wasn't any space outside due to the overcrowding
of the displacement tents. The drinking water gallons were used by lifting them
back and forth around the tent. Each of them weighed ten kilograms (20 pounds),
and I carried them like the weights that I had used at the sports center before
the war. Even though I was supposed to be carrying much more weight, however,
these weights were appropriate for me to maintain my fitness under the current
circumstances, and it was beneficial to me."
As far as Ribhi was concerned, lifting
the gallons of water as weights wasn't enough. As well as exercising, he used
the battery as a weight. He describes training: "I tried to use everything
that I could find in the tent to continue my training. As a result of the
battery exercise, I built up my leg muscles. I used a movement exercise called
the zigzag jump, which is a movement exercise similar to the step exercise in
terms of jumping and rapid movement."
The funny thing is, he used his younger
brother to help him out. "My younger brother is 15 and weighs 50 kg,"
he says. There was a time when I used him to do squats, which is one of the
basic exercises in strength and fitness training that targets the lower body
muscles and is one of the most basic exercises. Everything was used to continue
training, including warm-up exercises.”
The obstacles will not be able to stop
anyone with a clear purpose and will. It has been Ribhi's mission to challenge
the current situation of bombing, killing, and suffering from severe famine in
Gaza. His physical fitness has been improved in the hope that after the war
ends he will be able to find a sporting opportunity, as he dreams of.
A
lot of criticism has been leveled at Ribhi by his family and relatives for
continuing to train under such difficult circumstances. This is true
considering the starvation that is currently taking place. In their opinion, it
is unclear how he can continue training if he is supposed to receive proper
nutrition commensurate with the effort he expends. He's urged to stop until the
genocide is over.
Still, he hasn't given up despite all the
criticism. He sees the motivation in himself and can keep going. On Friday, he
rested and recuperated. He says exercise makes him tired. His dream was to
become a famous football player. He's played on the Rafah Youth Club youth team
since he was a kid. The disapproval of his father shattered his dream. Then he
recalls: "I was a talented football player and joined the youth team when
I was 15 years old. In spite of the fact that I was very happy, my father
refused to let me continue playing football because the salaries of football
players were very low. I had to quit football and look for work because of
tough economic conditions. But as I grew older and matured, I had a great deal
of confidence in myself that one day I would be able to accomplish my
dream."
"Ever
since I was a kid, I've had flat feet. My doctor told me not to play football
because I might suffer future damage. However, I played sports and was on the
team. I was physically fit and strong. Not even my feet felt fatigue. It is
possible that the diagnosis was inaccurate, so I regarded it as unnecessary and
did not let it impede me. This is due to the fact that I played like any other
player and was of great physical strength when I was playing."
As a kid, Ribhi worked as a chef in a
city restaurant. Keeping his dream in sight, he wouldn't give up. After this
period of time, he began frequenting his club on a regular basis and taking
part in activities with them. After he had received encouragement from his
fellow players, he asked the first-team coach at the time, Captain Khaled Abu
Kuwaik, if he could join the team. It was agreed that he would undergo a
two-week physical preparation period and a test to assess his abilities and
skills as well. Things, however, did not go according to plan. Once again, the
dream was destroyed by the occupation that launched an extermination war that
resulted in destruction of sports infrastructure and the death of thousands.
Ribhi continues to defy the
circumstances. Even if his dream doesn't come true, he'll work hard. After
noticing his son's love for football and his ability to kick the ball with his
left foot, he hopes that he will be able to accomplish even a small part of his
dream through his son, Aser. By maintaining his physical fitness and improving
his mental health, Ribhi was able to challenge the occupation and win the war.
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