In a scene reflecting the harsh humanitarian reality in Gaza, Palestinian children continue karate training among refugee tents, using the narrow sandy spaces as a substitute for the sports halls and clubs destroyed during the Israeli war, in an attempt to maintain a sporting activity that has lost its safe environment.

Sport without infrastructure

Since the start of the war in 2023, Gaza’s sports infrastructure has suffered widespread destruction, leading to an almost complete halt of sports activities.

With no equipped halls, the pathways between displacement tents in Khan Yunis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, have become alternative training grounds, where children find a physical and psychological outlet amid the destruction.

Training on sand instead of floors

Children undergo basic physical exercises and self-defense training under the supervision of specialized coaches within these limited spaces. Sand has become a forced substitute for sports floors, in the absence of essential equipment and tools, with a focus on fitness and physical discipline as the minimum needed to continue.

From the training sessions in Gaza.

Halls leveled to the ground

Karate coach Khalil Shalqa emphasizes that the current training conditions were not a choice, but a direct result of the war.

He says the private hall where he used to train his players was completely destroyed, like many other clubs and sports facilities in the Strip, forcing him and his athletes to continue training under harsh conditions, sometimes on the beach or on sand.

Incomplete uniforms and no resources

The players’ clothing reflects the extent of their hardship: some wear white outfits, others blue, not out of adherence to rules but because official karate uniforms are unavailable. Shalqa notes that training under these conditions is imposed on them, stressing that sport has become a form of resilience.

Shocking numbers and human losses

Last November, Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub announced that sports fields and halls in Palestine were “leveled to the ground,” and that thousands of athletes were killed, injured, or went missing due to the war, pointing out that sports activities have completely stopped since its start.

Famine worsens suffering

Even though the ceasefire agreement came into effect on October 10, 2025, the humanitarian crisis continues. Coach Shalqa attributes this to the continued closure of crossings and insufficient entry of food and medical supplies, stressing that malnutrition has left visible effects on both players and coaches.

Unstoppable ambition

Karate athlete Yasmin Khalil Shalqa shares that her career was interrupted by the war, but she returned to training despite losing her club, equipment, and certifications. She says the team was reformed to involve children in sports activities that keep them away from the war’s atmosphere, expressing her ambition to continue her career, earn a black belt, and open a new club in the future.

Sport as a psychological refuge

Shalqa stresses that karate is not just a sport, but a way to alleviate the psychological trauma experienced by children, and a message of hope in an environment where almost everything is missing. He concludes by calling on the international community and the sports world to pay attention to these athletes, who dream of returning to competitions, traveling, and practicing their sport freely as they did before the war.