As bombs shatter Gaza, boxing coach emboldens girls

By Hatem Khaled

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel's offensive in Gaza has pulverised most of its sports facilities and equipment but that has not stopped boxing coach Osama Ayoub training Palestinian girls in a tent camp that offers no protection from air strikes or shelling.

The boxing club where girls once learned to jab, build their stamina and make friends has been demolished.

There is no protective equipment, ring or punch bags in the open-air sandy space between the tents where displaced girls now practice - a mattress and pillow will have to do - but Ayoub says the training has helped them overcome their fear of war.

"They started going out on the street. They started going out at night. Their personalities became much stronger, and even their families saw that they are stronger," he said.

It's all about improvisation. One very young girl unleashes punches barehanded and weaves left and right to dodge imaginary fists. "Throw a right," yells the coach, who then puts up his own fists for the girls to punch in turn.

"They have determination, they have contentment, they have courage. At first, they were afraid of the war we are living in, but through boxing they have benefited a lot," he said.

Gaza offered playgrounds, football, tennis, karate and other sports before terrifying bombs began dropping from the skies, flattening entire neighbourhoods.

Attempts to restart sports are risky, even when played outside. On Tuesday, an Israeli missile slammed into a football match at a tent encampment, killing at least 29 people, Palestinian officials said.

Yet the boxers dream of international competitions overseas, worlds away from Gaza, a tiny, densely populated enclave that suffered from poverty and high unemployment even long before Hamas triggered the war on Oct. 7 by attacking Israel.

"I hope that this war will end and that our message will reach everyone in the name of the girls of Gaza," said one of the boxers, Bilsan Ayoub.

The chances of that happening soon are slim. Months of mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have failed to secure a truce between Israel and its arch-enemy Hamas, never mind a permanent ceasefire.

So all the boxers can do is keep practising as each side demands concessions from the other and the conflict rages.

"We do not have anything left, being displaced. We do not have clips, gloves, teeth protection, said Ayoub, who has to improvise every day to keep her dream of international competition alive.

"The tools are very simple but we want to continue in this game until we achieve our dream and end the war," she said.

(Writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Philippa Fletcher)