Gaza Herald – In the Gaza Strip, where Israeli attacks continue to claim lives and shatter dreams, a group of young women refuses to surrender to amputation and disability. Instead, they have chosen a different way to confront their pain, by kicking a football and chasing dreams that airstrikes failed to destroy.
Rozan, Kifah, Aisha, and others have either lost limbs during the war or were born with physical disabilities. Yet none of them has lost the determination to live or their passion for sport.
Today, they form the core of Gaza’s first women’s amputee football team, transforming trauma into strength and pain into hope for the future.
On a small artificial turf field in Deir al-Balah, one of the few sports grounds left standing after widespread destruction, the players’ laughter and voices rise above the echoes of war. Their determination embodies a powerful message of resilience in the face of devastation.
The Palestine Amputee Football Association is training the team to establish the future Palestinian Women’s National Amputee Football Team, to compete in international tournaments.
An Amputated Leg, But an Unbroken Dream
After delivering a precise pass with the help of her crutch, Rozan Khaira, 24, speaks with confidence.
“Israeli occupation forces’ fire amputated our bodies, but it never amputated our dreams or our will to live.”
Rozan, from Gaza City’s Al-Daraj neighborhood, grew up in a sports-loving family. Before the genocide that began on October 7, 2023, she competed in local running competitions.
Her life changed forever on November 19, 2023, when an Israeli airstrike bombarded a home opposite her family’s home, leaving her critically injured and ultimately resulting in the amputation of one of her legs.
She recalls trying to stand after the injury but collapsing immediately. At a nearby clinic, a doctor placed her severed leg in her lap before she later learned that amputation had become the only medical option.
Despite repeated displacement and the challenges of living with one leg, Rozan refused to abandon her ambitions. She joined the amputee football team with one clear goal: representing Palestine internationally as part of the future national women’s amputee football team.
Loss That Fueled Determination
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities last December, the war has resulted in nearly 6,000 amputations, with approximately 25% involving children, many of whom now face lifelong disabilities.
Kifah Al-Fakhouri is among them.
On June 30, 2025, an Israeli missile struck a seaside café in Gaza where she was sitting with friends.
The attack claimed the lives of her companions and cost her one of her legs.
“I lost consciousness,” Kifah recalls. “When I woke up in Al-Shifa Hospital, I discovered that my leg had been amputated.”
Overwhelmed by grief after losing both her leg and her friends, Kifah eventually chose a different path. She joined the amputee football team and has become one of its most energetic and inspiring players.
For her, football has become a different form of resistance, one that allows her to reclaim her life despite immense loss.
A Goalkeeper with One Arm
Standing confidently between the goalposts is Aisha Al-Abadla, 16, who guards her team’s goal with only one arm.
Aisha was born with an underdeveloped left arm. Her family says doctors believe her condition may be linked to her mother’s exposure to white phosphorus during the Israeli war on Gaza in late 2008 while she was pregnant.
Despite her disability, Aisha has loved football for the past eight years and chose to become a goalkeeper.
Her greatest dream is to wear the Palestinian national team jersey and compete internationally, carrying a message of resilience and hope from Gaza to the world.
Football as a Path to Healing
Coach Lamia Musleh moves constantly across the field, encouraging her players to run, pass, and shoot.
“Football here is much more than a sport,” she says. “It is a space for hope and psychological healing.”
She explains that the team’s mission extends beyond preparing athletes for future competitions. It is also about rebuilding confidence, strengthening resilience, and helping young women with amputations reclaim their lives.
Musleh says she has witnessed remarkable improvements in both the players’ mental well-being and physical confidence.
“Every kick of the ball feels like a kick against grief, pain, and despair.”
Building Hope Amid Enormous Challenges
Fouad Abu Ghaliyoun, founder and president of the Palestine Amputee Football Association, says the organization was established in 2018 and holds local, Asian, and international accreditation.
Its activities were suspended after the outbreak of war, but have now resumed through the women’s team.
Abu Ghaliyoun explains that the project operates under extremely difficult conditions, with widespread destruction, limited sports facilities, restricted movement, and ongoing security risks.
Despite these challenges, the team remains committed to expanding its work, convinced that sport offers amputee girls more than competition; it restores confidence, rebuilds dignity, and helps them reintegrate into society after the devastating consequences of war.
