‘They Celebrate Goals, We Count Martyrs’: Watching the World Cup in Gaza - Longreads

What is it like to watch the World Cup in Gaza? Despite completely destroyed neighborhoods, the threat of bombs and missile strikes, scarce electricity, and unreliable internet, Palestinians are still finding ways to gather around a screen. For +972 Magazine, Ibtisam Mahdi talks to fans and players for whom soccer has become an act of defiance as much as a distraction. The piece’s photos—including a wide shot by Omar Al-Qattaa of a massive crowd watching the Egypt-Argentina match in the Rimal neighborhood—capture scenes of unity and celebration.

On June 30 last year, Kifah Al-Fakhouri, a 30-year-old soccer fan, was sitting with friends at Al-Baqa Cafe in Gaza City, trying to carve out a few moments of joy amid the war. Moments later, an Israeli missile struck the seaside cafe and killed four of her friends. She survived, but had to have her leg amputated.

Despite her own personal loss, and her grief over the death of her friends, Al-Fakhouri found the strength to join a women’s amputee soccer team. On the pitch, she found a place where she could reclaim a part of herself and push back against the sense of helplessness imposed on her by the war.