Boxing becomes rare outlet from pressures of displacement and war for women and girls in Gaza

(13 May 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip – 6 May 2026
1. Coach helping girls to wear gloves before start training
2. Various of girls wearing gloves
3. Various of girls throwing punches at makeshift training pads fashioned from plastic poles and padded tarps.
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rimas Ayoub, displaced from Gaza City:
"I come here to practice boxing to unleash the energy, fear, pressure, sadness and depression we were going through. We came to practice boxing; we train with the coach and on the punching bag."
5. Various of girls training with their coach
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rimas Ayoub, displaced from Gaza City:
“Before the war, I used to practice sports at a club, in a gym, in a place not exposed to the sun. I would train with the girls. But when we were displaced, we play among the tents. There are no good tents, so we train under the sun.”
6. Various of girls throwing punches at punching bags
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Sujoud Abu Amro, displaced from Hamad City, north of Khan Younis:
”At first, I started playing volleyball. The coach came and asked me to watch boxing, and I liked it very much. I felt that it gave me energy and strength, made me brave, and allowed me to unleash pent-up energy."
8. Various of girls doing warm-up exercises
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Osama Ayoub, the women's boxing team coach:
”Now there is an awareness among people, in the past: How does a girl practice boxing? Especially in the Khan Younis area, but today there is awareness among mothers and fathers, and they are encouraged to let their daughters practice boxing.”
9. Various of girls doing warm-up exercises
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Osama Ayoub, the women's boxing team coach:
"We started training with a pillow, a tray, with very basic equipment. We never had any equipment. Our resources have improved; we now have a punching bag, but it's not enough. One bag for forty-five girls isn't enough. We need a boxing ring, padding, so if a girl falls, she has protection. We train here with nothing, without proper equipment, just to keep going. Why? Because the girls want to practice boxing and they have the courage, and as a coach, I want to continue practicing boxing.”
11. Various of girls practicing boxing
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Osama Ayoub, the women's boxing team coach:
“All the girls here come to unleash their energy. They come here to unleash everything that happens in their day, putting it all in the punching bag, in my hands. You can see the joy in their eyes. I am happy when I see a girl happy while she is training boxing with her friend. She feels there is competition, and they want to improve and have a goal.”
13. Various of girls training with their coach
STORYLINE:
Under the blazing sun in Gaza’s Muwasi area of Khan Younis, girls of different ages line up between rows of tents to practice boxing, throwing punches at worn punching bags and makeshift training pads fashioned from plastic poles and padded tarps.

For many of them, the sport has become a rare outlet from the pressures of displacement and war — days shaped by tent life, water queues and food distribution lines.

In conservative Gaza, boxing has long been considered unusual for girls. But families who once may have rejected the idea are increasingly accepting it as few recreational spaces remain for their daughters.

Before the war, the girls trained in gyms with proper equipment. Now they practice outdoors on sandy ground, some wearing old gloves and hand wraps shared among teammates.
With little equipment available, the group improvises.
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