Palestinian football games reappear in Gaza after 3 years.

With the opening whistle of the first match of the "Cup of the Thousand Martyrs," football is back in Gaza, marking its return on Friday after a suspension of nearly three years due to the war. But Gaza's sporting community has suffered heavy losses. Around 565 members of the Palestinian Football Association were killed during the war, while the overall death toll across the Palestinian sports community exceeded 1,000. Israel destroyed more than 50 of Gaza's 56 sports clubs and 285 sports facilities during the war, leaving few places for players to train or compete. Meanwhile, at Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in the West Bank, the first match of West Bank clubs also kicked off at the same time, as Palestinian football returned across different locations. With Gaza's football stadiums destroyed, local clubs are forced onto small, five-a-side pitches. Yet even under these conditions, the sport game is underway again. Shotlist: Gaza Strip - Sept 4, 2026: 1. Various of football match in progress, spectators cheering; 2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sami Abu Al-Hussein, assistant secretary general, Palestinian Football Association (starting with shot 1): "We face many obstacles. As you can see, we are playing on a five-a-side pitch because all sports facilities in the southern governorates were destroyed by the Israeli occupation."; 3. Various of football match in progress, spectators; 4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Raji Ashour, coach, Shabab Rafah Club (starting with shot 3): "This match, after three years of war, sends a powerful message that we are a people who love life, through sport and other aspects of life. We are a people who want to live, and this is the message we want to send to the world through sport."; 5. Various of football match in progress. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]