In the darkness of a market in the central Gaza Strip, where power outages are a part of daily life, a brightly lit screen showing a World Cup match holds everyone's gaze.Dozens of men and boys stood transfixed as they watched Belgium play Egypt -- a much-anticipated fixture for Palestinian football fans eager to witness the prowess of their idol, Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah.The 1-1 draw in Monday's match didn't dampen their spirits, with some fans climbing onto their friends' shoulders and waving huge Egyptian flags.Smiles spread across the crowd gathered among the ruins of the Nuseirat neighourbood which, like the rest of the Gaza Strip, was devastated during the two-year war between Israel and Hamas."The World Cup is not a trivial event for Gazans," said Mustafa Siam, a member of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), whose president was denied visas for the United States and Canada."Palestinian football fans will try to follow the matches and forget their worries and pain," he told AFP, wearing a tracksuit top in red, the colour of the Palestinian national team.Owners of the small makeshift cafes that have sprung up across the Palestinian territory are doing their best to try to recreate the atmosphere of previous major tournaments.And they are attracting an audience, despite the dire situation facing Gaza's population.In Al-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, a tent in a camp for displaced people shows a match on a small television screen.Fans sit on plastic chairs arranged on the sandy floor, their chatter mingling with the hum of a worn-out generator. "We try, as much as possible, to experience the World Cup -- loved by both young and old," said one customer, Eid Al-Attar.