Displaced men with no access to TV followed the game through WhatsApp groups, sharing updates. Mohamed Souleimane / The National
Displaced men with no access to TV followed the game through WhatsApp groups, sharing updates. Mohamed Souleimane / The National
Displaced men with no access to TV followed the game through WhatsApp groups, sharing updates. Mohamed Souleimane / The National
Displaced men with no access to TV followed the game through WhatsApp groups, sharing updates. Mohamed Souleimane / The National

Displaced Gazans see brief respite in national football team's match


  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

About an hour before Palestine’s national team played its first game in the 2024 Asian Cup over the weekend, 25-year-old football fan Medhat Al Abadla rushed to a hut owned by a resident of Al Mawasi, where he has been displaced since the start of December.

Abu Salim’s hut, he was told, had become a gathering point for Gazan men displaced in the enclave, offering access to something Mr Al Abadla had not seen since he fled his home in Khan Younis last month: a television.

In the northern part of Al Mawasi, near Mr Al Abadla’s hometown of Khan Younis, which he fled as Israel intensified its military operations there, several Gazans were already in Abu Salim’s hut, deeply engaged in a debate on the developments of the war and the struggles of survival.

Mr Al Abadla sat politely with his eyes glued to the small TV set in the centre of the wooden hut.

Twenty minutes later, an impatient Mr Al Abadla interrupted the discussion, and asked if he could search for a satellite channel that would air the game. Powered by solar panels, which 48-year-old farmer Abu Selim had installed to make up for the lack of essential infrastructure in Al Mawasi, the set is used only when necessary, as valuable electricity is often used to power more important equipment around his house.

Those who gathered in Abu Salim's home only managed to watch minutes of the match before the solar-powered battery ran dry. Mohamed Souleimane / The National
Those who gathered in Abu Salim's home only managed to watch minutes of the match before the solar-powered battery ran dry. Mohamed Souleimane / The National

The match, which pitted Palestine’s national team – winless since its launch in 2015 – against multi-time Asian Cup winners Iran, was a good enough reason to make an exception.

“It’s not about winning, or even the team’s performance. The chance of Palestine beating Iran – a multiple time Asian champion – was close to none,” Mr Al Abadla told The National before the match.

Palestine lost 4-1, an outcome Mr Al Abadla and others had predicted. “We were not expecting victory as much as we were trying to feel that we support our national team in any way, even by trying to watch them play.”

However, Mr Al Abadla’s plans for a smooth watch were interrupted, minutes before the match began.

Abu Salim’s 60-volt battery ran dry. A cloudy morning had weakened the solar panels.

Mr Al Abadla and his friends, also passionate football fans, weighed up what other options they had.

One of Abu Salim's neighbours invited a handful of men to watch the football at his home, also powered by solar energy.

“Our pain is great and our displacement has been endlessly long. But we cannot give up on everything, It will drive us to madness. This match is a good opportunity to breathe, even if just a little, from the state of death we are living in,” Abu Salim told The National.

The state of sadness and despair among the displaced people is profound, but we’re trying to make it out of this ordeal alive
Mahmoud Abu Omar,
displaced Gazan

But not everyone was fortunate enough to have access to electricity to watch the match.

Elsewhere in Al Mawasi, a crowd of men huddled in a tent with no access to a television screen or radio transmission to tune in to the game.

Mahmoud Abu Omar, 43, who was displaced from central Khan Younis more than a month ago, was only able to follow updates on the game through a sports-focused WhatsApp group, which he had access to through limited internet made available by a non-Palestinian e-sim card.

“The state of sadness and despair among the displaced people is profound, but we’re trying to make it out of this ordeal alive,” he said, adding that his children, who were never that drawn to football, showed increased interest in following the match.

He suggested they stay in a nearby tent to listen for updates he read out loud off the WhatsApp group. “Patriotic emotions are heightened. And so is desperation. We’re desperate to make our children smile, and this is more precious than anything,” he said.

The story was published in collaboration with Egab.

FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

Company%C2%A0profile
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SANCTIONED
  • Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
  • Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB. 
  • Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.  
  • Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
  • Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.

Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')

Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')

Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)

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Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

FULL%20RESULTS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
SPECS
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World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

FIGHT%20CARD
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What are the influencer academy modules?
  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.
Results:

6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah (PA) | Group 2 | US$55,000 (Dirt) | 1,600 metres

Winner: AF Al Sajanjle, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

7.05pm: Meydan Sprint (TB) | Group 2 | $250,000 (Turf) | 1,000m

Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,600m

Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson

8.15pm: Meydan Trophy Conditions (TB) | $100,000 (T) | 1,900m

Winner: Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) | $250,000 (T) | 1,800m

Winner: Poetic Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (D) | 1,200m

Winner: Lava Spin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,410m

Winner: Mountain Hunter, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor

What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE

Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Nations League

League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)

TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Updated: January 16, 2024, 10:52 AM