JABALIA, Palestinian Territories: On a makeshift pitch in war-torn Gaza, a young player and goalkeeper block out the roaring crowd and focus solely on the football as they kick off.
The referee blows the whistle and the penalty taker fires the ball into the makeshift goal, sparking wild celebrations as the crowd swarms him.
For fans and players, Tuesday's game at the Jabalia refugee camp was a welcome distraction from the hunger and exhaustion endured during the nearly 300 days of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Judge Rami Mustafa Abu Hashish told AFP that soccer helped “restore a semblance of life” to Jabalia, devastated by Israeli bombardment and fighting that has destroyed schools, stadiums and homes, uprooting families many times over.
In the courtyard of a school-turned-shelter, the two sides competed for a trophy that one player said had been salvaged from the rubble.
The game created a festive atmosphere, with spectators pulling out chairs and leaning over the railings of the three-story facility to cheer.
A group of boys piled onto an empty truck bed for a better overview.
“We will play despite hunger and thirst, we will compete because we love life,” read one child's sign in both English and Arabic.
Jabalia was hit particularly hard in an Israeli offensive that began in May, part of a fierce campaign sweeping across northern Gaza – an area the military previously said was beyond the control of Hamas militants.
As fighting rages, humanitarian organizations struggle to deliver aid and warn of a looming famine.
Residents have told AFP that there is barely any food left in the north, and what little reaches them comes at an astronomical cost.
For the footballers, the match offered a rare escape from worries about food and water shortages.
They have not been able to play since the outbreak of war on October 7 triggered by Hamas attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, of which 116 remain in Gaza, including 44 the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,145 Palestinians, including most civilians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
“Since the war in the Gaza Strip, we have stayed away from sports because all the clubs were destroyed, all the playgrounds were destroyed, but today we have made something out of nothing,” said Saif Abu Saif, one of the players.
Gaza's Ministry of Education says 85 percent of educational facilities in the territory are out of service because of the war.
Many have been turned into shelters for war refugees as most of the besieged strip's 2.4 million people have been uprooted several times.
Coach Wael Abu Saif said he was determined to take part in Tuesday's game despite still experiencing pain from wounds sustained in an attack in February. Now in a wheelchair, he said he lost the use of both his legs.
“I have loved football since I was a child, I love tournaments, I love playing,” he told AFP.
“I want to prove to the whole world… that we continue to move forward with the most basic of our rights, which is to play football.”
