Palestine Stadium (Arabic: ملعب فلسطين) is a football stadium in Gaza City, Palestine, with a capacity of 10,000. The stadium serves the Palestine national football team for home matches.[1]
ملعب فلسطين | |
 | |
| Full name | Palestine International Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location |  Gaza City, Palestine |
| Owner | Palestine |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1967 |
| Renovated | 1999 |
| Demolished | 1 April 2006, 17 November 2012, 8 July–26 August 2014, 7 October–10 November 2023 (All destroyed by Israel) |
| Rebuilt | 2021 |
| Tenants | |
| Palestine national football team | |
History
editPalestine Stadium was built in Rimal, Gaza City in the 1960s.
It was bombed and damaged by Israel on 1 April 2006. The Israeli attack made the stadium unusable due to the damages. FIFA announced that it would fund the repair work. FIFA decided to pay for the repairs after it deemed the Israeli attack was without any reason and that the field was not being used as a "missile launching pad" as the Israeli ambassador to Switzerland had originally claimed.[2][3]
It was again bombed and destroyed by Israel on 17 November 2012, during the 2012 Israeli attacks in Gaza. Israel launched rockets against the venue, severely damaging an indoor hall and a neighboring building as well as causing four large craters in the pitch. A woman who lives in a house adjacent to the stadium was wounded by shrapnel. Reports estimated that the cost of the damage could be millions of dollars. As a result of the Israeli attack, football stars created a petition which called for a boycott of Israel. Over 60 professional players, including Eden Hazard, Didier Drogba, Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba, Fredi Kanoute, and others signed the petition.[1][4][5]
As of 2019, the stadium had been repaired by FIFA after the 2014 Israeli attacks in Gaza[6] and has hosted several events, both in the indoor sports halls and the outdoor field.[7][8]
During the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza, the stadium was attacked and destroyed by Israel at some point between 7 October–10 November 2023, leaving it inoperable.[9] Per media reports, the location was occupied by Israeli invaders and converted into an IDF internment camp, with videos depicting victims, including children, shared by Israeli sources via social media. Israeli occupiers kidnapped dozens of civilians, including elderly people and children, and gathered them half-naked, according to photos and videos circulated on social media. Children as young as nine years old, wearing only their underwear, while walking at gunpoint in extreme winter conditions around the stadium.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ a b "FIFA Pledges Help to Rebuild Gaza Stadium". Naharnet. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ "Field artillery - Bombings in kibbutz and Gaza represent new pitch invasion". Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "FIFA to fund Gaza soccer field repair". ynet. 11 April 2006.
- ^ Fenn, Alec (17 November 2012). "Gaza stadium hit by Israeli air attack". goal.com. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^ "Soccer stars protest Gaza bombing". CNN. 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ Asad, Mohammed (15 April 2019). "Amputee football championships held in Gaza". middleeastmonitor.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ Kamal, Sanaa (22 November 2019). huaxia (ed.). "Goalball tries to make its way in Gaza Strip". xianhuanet.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Gaza Amputees Turn To Football To Overcome Disabilities And Trauma". icrcnewsroom.org. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ Mahmud, Ramzi; Topcu, Gulsen. "Israeli warplanes bomb locations in Gaza Strip". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Israeli military converts Gaza stadium into mass detention camp". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Zidan, Karim. "The systematic destruction of Gaza's football stadiums". www.sportspolitika.news. Retrieved 2024-10-30.