Hosni Nedim, Muhammed Emin Canik
22 October 2026•Update: 22 October 2026
Palestinian women and girls have resumed boxing training in a tent in Gaza after their club was destroyed during Israel’s attacks on the besieged enclave.
The Gaza Boxing Women club, located in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood west of Gaza City, has restarted activities in a makeshift tent after its gym was destroyed and its equipment was damaged in Israeli attacks.
Although the tent falls far short of the facilities the athletes once used, the club’s reopening has provided women and girls with a space to continue training after a lengthy interruption.
Palestinian boxing coach and national referee Nader Yassin is working to revive the club with limited resources. The athletes, aged 7 to 40, are training both to improve their boxing skills and to ease the psychological pressure caused by the conflict.
Yassin told Anadolu that before the attacks, the club had a spacious gym equipped with boxing gloves, punch pads and other necessary equipment.
“We lost all our tools and equipment in the Israeli attacks,” Yassin said. “Today, although we do not have a suitable place to practice sports, we are training in a tent with the limited resources available.”
He said the training sessions aim to help women and girls cope with the pressure caused by the attacks, improve their physical fitness and temporarily escape the hardships of daily life.
Despite inadequate facilities and growing difficulties, Yassin said he was determined to continue training and hoped to develop athletes capable of competing successfully in matches and tournaments.
‘We decided to rebuild what was destroyed’
Athlete Vela Abu Neda said returning to training meant more than simply resuming a sport she loved after a three-year break caused by the conflict.
Before the Israeli attacks, Abu Neda trained in better conditions, with a proper gym and adequate equipment. She said the destruction of the club and loss of its facilities prevented her from practicing boxing during the intervening period.
“After three years of Israeli attacks, we decided to start again and rebuild what was destroyed,” Abu Neda said. “Today, despite our very limited resources, the lack of a suitable place and insufficient equipment, we did not give up. We continue our training, even in a tent.”
Abu Neda said boxing was more than a sport for her, adding that she used training to cope with the stress and psychological pressure accumulated during the attacks.
She said returning to training had helped her release negative energy and partially regain her psychological balance.
“The war prevented me from practicing my sport for three years, but I did not give up. Today, I have returned to start again,” she said.
More than 1,000 athletes, scouts killed
Mustafa Siam, secretary-general of the Palestinian Sports Media Association, previously told Anadolu that Palestinians in Gaza were seeking to revive sporting activities following three years of Israeli attacks.
Siam said more than 1,000 athletes and scouts had been killed during the attacks, while more than 265 sports facilities had been completely or partially destroyed.
He said the return of tournaments to Gaza would mean more than simply resuming sporting competitions, adding that sporting activities could help children and young people affected by war, displacement and loss recover psychologically and socially while preserving their athletic abilities.
Overall, since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, injured 175,000 others and destroyed or damaged about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.