JABALIA, Palestinian Territories: On an improvised pitch in war-torn Gaza, a young player and a goalkeeper block out the cheering crowd and concentrate solely on football as they duel.
The referee blows his whistle and the penalty taker shoots the ball into the makeshift goal, causing wild cheers and a rush of spectators.
For fans and players, Tuesday's game in the Jabalia refugee camp was a welcome distraction from the pangs of hunger and exhaustion they have endured during the nearly 300-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Referee Rami Mustafa Abu Hashish told AFP that football had helped bring “a semblance of life” back to the city of Jabalia, which has been devastated by Israeli bombing and fighting that has left schools, stadiums and homes destroyed and many families uprooted.
In the courtyard of a school converted into emergency accommodation, the two teams competed for a trophy that one player said was recovered from the rubble.
The game created a festive atmosphere, with spectators pulling out chairs and leaning over the railings of the three-story complex to cheer.
A group of boys crowded into the back of an empty truck for a better view.
“We will play despite hunger and thirst, we will compete because we love life,” read one children’s sign in English and Arabic.
Jabalia was hit particularly hard in an Israeli offensive launched in May, part of a fierce campaign in northern Gaza – an area the military had previously said was beyond the control of Hamas militants.
As fighting rages, humanitarian organizations are struggling to provide aid and are warning of looming famine.
Residents told AFP that food supplies in the north are scarce and that the little food that reaches them comes at astronomical costs.
For the footballers, the game was a rare opportunity to escape worries about food and water shortages.
They have not been able to play since the war broke out on October 7, sparked by Hamas attacks. In Israel, 1,197 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also captured 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in the Gaza Strip. According to the army, 44 of them are dead.
According to the Health Ministry, at least 39,145 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, were killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign in the Hamas-ruled territory.
“Since the war in Gaza, we have stayed away from sports because all the clubs and playgrounds were destroyed. But today we made something out of nothing,” said Saif Abu Saif, one of the players.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Education, 85 percent of educational institutions in the area are out of service because of the war.
Many of these shelters have been converted into accommodation for war refugees, as most of the 2.4 million inhabitants of the besieged strip have already been displaced several times.
Coach Wael Abu Saif said he was determined to attend Tuesday's match despite still being in pain from wounds sustained in an attack in February. He is now in a wheelchair and has lost the use of both legs, he said.
“I have loved football since I was a child, I love tournaments, I love playing,” he told AFP.
“I want to prove to the whole world that we continue to exercise our most fundamental right, the right to play football.”
