GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL

A narrow sand road cutting through tents in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip has become an improvised basketball court for children trying to steal moments of normal life amid the death and devastation caused by Israel across the enclave.

Twice a week, boys gather for training sessions led by local players who are trying to keep the sport alive with almost no resources. They rebuilt a basketball rim they pulled from under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Children from the surrounding tents crowd around the players, shouting spontaneous cheers that bring brief energy to a place marked by severe hardship and displacement.

These sessions give the boys a short escape from the devastation left by Israel’s October 2023 genocide, which lasted two years and ended after a ceasefire took effect in October.

Passing horse-drawn carts and vehicles frequently interrupt practices on the unpaved road, which volunteers turned into a temporary court without any sports infrastructure.

Gaza’s sports sector has suffered extensive damage. The government media office said Israeli forces destroyed 292 stadiums, gyms and sports facilities during the two years of war.

- 'We want to play'

At the center of the effort is 64-year-old Atef al-Beitar, a former basketball player for Khan Younis Services Club. He coaches young players along the makeshift road.

Beitar told Anadolu he decided to use his time in Mawasi to train children and preserve the sport he has played for more than two decades.

He said the sessions began two weeks ago and will continue twice weekly during school breaks, when fewer vehicles pass through the area.

“We train despite the rockets and the ongoing assault,” he said, referring to Israeli violations of the ceasefire, the demolition of residential buildings in areas under Israeli control, and airstrikes on Palestinian neighborhoods.

He said the group gathered boys with basketball talent to develop their skills and prepare them for possible local or external matches.

The coach added that the Israeli genocide kept him away from the sport for two years. He said his message to authorities is simple: “We want to play and return to our clubs and indoor courts… we don’t want to stay here between the tents.”

- Limited resources

Jihad al-Sharafi, a basketball player from Jabalia Services Club who is also displaced in Mawasi, said the Israeli genocide “destroyed everything in Gaza.”

“Everything is gone - the clubs, even the schools where we used to train the kids and practice our skills,” he told Anadolu.

He said they now train young players without any facilities. The group recovered a damaged rim from beneath the rubble and reassembled it to resume training.

Sharafi said they chose this specific road because it has less sand, noting that basketball cannot be played on soft ground. “We returned to basketball with very limited means,” he added.

He called on authorities to provide shoes, uniforms and access to courts to protect and develop young talent.

- Small dreams

After finishing a session, 9-year-old Fares al-Eyadi, displaced from Gaza City, told Anadolu: “My dream is to play basketball and become a great player.”

“The war destroyed us… we don’t have shoes or sports clothes,” he said.

He explained that children play barefoot among the tents, on sand, without a gym or any sports services. Passing carts repeatedly interrupt the training.

Eyadi said he hopes to someday compete in games outside Gaza.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured more than 170,900 people in the over two-year war that has left much of the enclave in ruins.