Palestine players prepare for 2023 Asian Cup amid Israeli carnage in Gaza

Two weeks ahead of Palestine's opening game at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, the team is struggling to focus as war rages on in besieged Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and wounded, and millions uprooted by Israeli invasion.

Some players have lost loved ones in Israel's relentless bombardment of the besieged territory following Hamas resistance group's October 7 blitz on southern Israel.

Much of Gaza has been destroyed, including stadiums, in air and artillery strikes and a ground invasion, and football fields have been used as makeshift graves for some of the dead as many cemeteries are either full or inaccessible.

"Everyone is glued to the news, before and after training, be it on the bus or at the hotel," the team's coach, Makram Daboub, said from Saudi Arabia, where the players were training.

Qatar hosts the 2023 Asian Cup from January 12 to February 10, and Palestine will play its opening game on January 14 against Iran.

The players have "a constant feeling of anxiety for their families", Daboub, a former Tunisia coach and player, said by telephone. The Palestinian Football Association celebrated in June last year when the national team won — for the third time — a spot in the Asian Cup.

But with no end in sight to the Israeli brutal war on Gaza, the team now feels crushed as they try to prepare for the upcoming competition.

"We have physical, technical and tactical problems due to the suspension of the tournament... as well as psychological issues," said Daboub.

Football matches have been suspended in besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7.

Many players are struggling, particularly those like Mahmoud Wadi and Mohammed Saleh, who have families trapped in Gaza where their homes have been destroyed, said Daboub.

"They are suffering," he said.

Others have relatives who have had to flee relentless Israeli bombardment in the north of the territory and seek safety in the south, "where conditions are difficult", he added.

The UN says 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million population has been displaced, and no area of the crowded territory was safe, as Israel has extended its invasion from north to south.

'Palestinian flag, identity'

Daboub said the team hopes to "qualify for the latter stages of the Asian Cup and show the honourable face of Palestinian football".

Most importantly, the coach said, "raising the Palestinian flag" in international arenas "affirms Palestinian identity and shows that in Palestine people deserve freedom and a better life".

Palestinian Football Federation President Jibril Rajub said Israel’s war on Gaza wreaked havoc on "sports and youth" movements.

"So far, more than 1,000 members of sports, youth and scout movements have been killed," said Rajub.

He accused Israeli forces of "targeting Palestinian sports clubs... in flagrant violation of the Olympic charter".

He mentioned specifically "horrible images" that emerged from the Yarmouk football stadium in Gaza, which Israeli forces "turned into a detention, abuse and interrogation centre".

He was referring to Israeli media footage showing scores of stripped Palestinians, including children, sitting on the ground of the stadium.

Rajub said Yarmouk Stadium was built in 1939, making it one of the oldest in the Palestinian territories.

The federation has sent letters to the International Olympic Committee and FIFA demanding an "urgent international probe into [Israeli] occupation crimes against sports and athletes in Palestine".

From football field to battlefield

The Palestinian Football Association [PFA] was established in 1928, 20 years before Israel's creation.

Palestine became a member of FIFA the following year.

The Palestinian national team, however, existed before that date, but its first official match was against Egypt in 1954, when the Lions of Canaan lost to the Pharaohs 8 – 1.

Like Egypt, Palestine was expanding its football in the early 1900s, with many clubs emerging, many of which were location-based clubs and religiously affiliated clubs, including the Orthodox clubs in Jerusalem, the Islamic Club of Jaffa and the Islamic Club of Haifa, according to PFA.

After the creation of Israel, along with the illegal migration of Jewish clubs from Europe to Palestine over the years, the growing sports section in Palestine declined, especially after the killing of many Palestinian players.

Israel, despite being located in Asia, is not registered in FIFA's Asian Football Confederation and is registered in FIFA's Europe region instead, according to FIFA's website.