Gaza is being destroyed, Palestine takes the field for the World Cup qualifiers

Palestine's national team was due to play a home match for the first time since 2019, but the conflict with Israel meant that the match against Australia, valid for the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, was moved to Kuwait.

Fans in the stadium will protest against Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. In the seventh minute of the game, Palestinian flags will fly for the start of the war on October 7 (the date Hamas first attacked Israel). In the 13th minute, the fans will stand up and turn their backs on the pitch, in protest of the over 13,000 people killed since the attacks began. In the 75th minute, they will raise their hands and join each other in protest for 75 years of Israeli occupation.

In the press conference before the match, the coach of Palestine, Makram Daboub, stated that his players are in a "very difficult" moment.

"The players sit with their mobile phones in hand to see the news about what's going on. They are motivated to make the Palestinian people happy," Makram said.

The Palestine team consists mostly of players who live in Europe or South America, while 3 of them who live in Gaza and who were expected to play in these qualifiers, could not leave Gaza.

  (A2 Televizion)