Palestinian Olympic team keeps war in Gaza front and center

(PARIS) — Eight Palestinians from across the globe say they are competing in honor of their ancestral roots on the Palestine Olympic Team for this year’s Games in Paris.

But as athletes join in the international competition, conflict continues to rage on in Gaza.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reports that more than 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 89,000 injured since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 — killing more than 1,200 — and Israel began its military operations on the Gaza Strip. Some of the Gazans killed in connection with Israel’s ongoing retaliation were Olympic athletes and coaches — including the reported deaths of soccer coach Hani Al-Masdar and the first man to hold the Palestinian flag at the Olympics in 1996, Majed Abu Marahee.

The growing death toll is front and center in the minds of several Palestinian athletes, who say they are using their international platform to bring awareness to the violence and dire humanitarian crisis facing civilians in Gaza.

For many of these athletes, it is their first time competing at the Olympics.

“While I prepare to swim in Paris, I’m racing to compete. I watch the news, and I see people swimming to receive packages from the sea,” said swimmer Valerie Tarazi, an American with ancestral roots in Gaza competing on the Palestinian team.

She traveled to the West Bank in July ahead of the Olympic Games, saying in an Instagram post that it reminded her “how proud I am to be Palestinian and what an honor it is to compete with the flag on my cap.”

“I love you Palestine. You have my heart,” she said in an Instagram post.

In April, the International Olympic Committee held a meeting with the National Olympic Committee of Palestine, where NOC President Jibril Rajoub asked the IOC for support in coordinating the rebuilding of destroyed sporting facilities in Palestinian territories amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The IOC said at the time that its “thoughts are with the many innocent victims of the current conflict in the region and their families” but have not offered any further comment on the request.

Yazan Al Bawwab, a swimmer who has family in the West Bank, has also competed in this year’s games. His activism spans beyond his Olympic platform as the founder of SwimHope Palestine, an organization aimed at empowering “underprivileged and refugee communities in Palestine by providing access to essential swimming education and life-saving water skills,” according to the International Olympic Committee.

Meanwhile, Omar Ismail, an 18-year-old taekwondo prodigy, made history as the first Palestinian taekwondo athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics, according to the IOC.

In an online post, he thanked the Palestinian Taekwondo Federation “for being the best support system anyone can have.”

He continued, “Together, we will show the world the strength and spirit of our nation.”

Runner Layla Al-Masri will be competing in the women’s 800-meter track event for the 2024 Palestinian Olympic team.

Al-Masri has used her platform to continue to shed light on what she has called a “brutal occupation” of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“While the world’s eyes are on the screen watching the Olympics, we want to use our unique platform as athletes to keep eyes on what’s going on in Palestine,” said Al-Masri in an online post.

In her posts, she urges Olympic viewers to continue talking about Gaza.

“I run for Palestine to represent something bigger than myself, the resilience of the Palestinian people, to bring voices to the voiceless,” she continued.

Among the other Palestinian team members are boxer Wasim Abusal, judoka Fares Badawi, Mohammed Dwedar who will run in the men’s 800-meter race and skeet shooter Jorge Antonio Salhe.