Football returned to a makeshift field in southern Gaza, where players from Gaza City and Rafah met for a friendly match surrounded by tents housing displaced Palestinians and buildings reduced to rubble by Israeli attacks.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered around the field in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis to watch the game, while some women and children climbed onto the roofs of partially damaged buildings for a better view.

For the players, the match offered a rare chance to return to the sport after the war destroyed many of Gaza's fields and forced athletes to leave their homes and neighborhoods.

The game was played among thousands of displaced Palestinians living in Mawasi, an area that has become home to large numbers of people uprooted by the conflict. With much of Gaza's sporting infrastructure destroyed, players have increasingly had to rely on open, sandy spaces instead of conventional football pitches.

The friendly was organized by Yunus Abu Sahloul, who said the teams approached him after being forced away from their home grounds by the war.

"We wanted to bring a little joy to the people," Abu Sahloul said, describing the match as an attempt to give Palestinians living through destruction and displacement a brief break from the hardships of daily life.

He said staging the game among the tents was also significant because it allowed people to reclaim a small part of normal life despite the conditions around them.

"The destruction of the fields and sports clubs has forced footballers to play on empty and sandy areas," Abu Sahloul said.

He called on organizations involved in Palestinian football to support efforts to revive sporting activities in Gaza and rebuild the territory's sports infrastructure. He also appealed to FIFA, the Arab Football Association and the Arab League to support Palestinian football.

The match marked another small step toward the return of organized sport in Gaza.

In March 2026, the first official five-a-side football tournament since the war began was held at three surviving fields, marking an early effort to restart sporting activities despite the widespread destruction.

According to figures released by the Palestinian Sports Media Association in July, about 1,012 athletes have been killed in Israeli attacks and 285 sports facilities and fields across the Gaza Strip have been destroyed.

Ahmed al-Lulahi, a player for the Rafah City Stars, said the friendly gave the players an opportunity to release some of the energy and pressure that had built up during the war while allowing spectators to momentarily escape the harsh realities around them.

He said such matches have largely been organized through individual efforts and personal resources, expressing hope that football can once again become a source of optimism in Gaza.

"For us, the match gave us renewed hope," Lulahi said.

The game came as a ceasefire that has been in place in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 10, 2025, has failed to end Israeli attacks in the territory.

According to Palestinian sources, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 2023, while much of the territory's infrastructure has been destroyed.