You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The national soccer team made it to the knockout stages of the Arab Cup for the first time, uniting fans from Gaza to the West Bank to Cairo to Arab cities in Israel.Palestinians watching the soccer match with the Saudi national team at a cafe in a displacement camp west of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Thursday.Credit...By Saher Alghorra For The New York TimesFor 2 Hours, a Soccer Match Offers Palestinians a Rarity: JoyThe national soccer team made it to the knockout stages of the Arab Cup for the first time, uniting fans from Gaza to the West Bank to Cairo to Arab cities in Israel.Palestinians watching the soccer match with the Saudi national team at a cafe in a displacement camp west of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Thursday.Credit...By Saher Alghorra For The New York TimesBy David M. HalbfingerBilal Shbair and Fatima AbdulKarimDavid Halbfinger reported from Jerusalem, Bilal Shbair from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip and Fatima AbdulKarim from Ramallah in the West Bank.Dec. 12, 2025The Palestinians needed a win.Not on the battlefield, or at the United Nations, or in The Hague — but on the soccer field.For the first time, the Palestinian national soccer team had made it into the quarterfinals of the Arab Cup, a regional tournament dating back to 1963.And on Thursday night, in packed cafes in Cairo, restaurants in Ramallah in the West Bank, hookah bars in Arab towns in Israel and even tents in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, Palestinians were out together, riding the emotional roller coaster of watching their team fight for its survival against an opponent with a much stronger record.For many watching the game, the parallels with other struggles were inescapable.“We didn’t win the war, but maybe we can win the match,” said Muhammad Abu Erjaila, 24, a Palestinian from Gaza now living in Cairo.In Gaza, nearly 50 men, teenagers and boys made their way through a stormy night and muddy, flooded streets to a makeshift cafe in a tent on the outskirts of Khan Younis, where a technician worked frantically to get the game’s livestream playing on a big TV powered by solar panels and batteries, and the cafe’s owner fed cardboard boxes and paper scraps into a fire to make hot drinks and heat the room.Video{"fit":"cover","play":true,"muted":true,"loop":true,"visibleOnPageLoad":false,"aspectRatio":"3:2","src":[{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg_1080p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":1080,"width":1620},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg_720p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":720,"width":1080},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg_480p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":480,"width":720},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg_360p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":360,"width":540},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg_240p.mp4","type":"mp4","height":240,"width":360},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/hls/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg/master.m3u8","type":"hls","filterQuality":[1080]},{"src":"https://vp.nyt.com/video/hlsfmp4/2025/12/12/157058_1_12vid-gaza-soccer-game_wg/master.m3u8","type":"hlsfmp4","filterQuality":[1080]}],"durationInSeconds":40,"startTime":0,"trackingData":{"contentId":"100000010583150","mData":{"videoName":"‘We Came to Cheer Ourselves Up’: Soccer Offers Gazans Rare Joy","analyticsId":"https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000010583150/gaza-palestine-soccer-arab-cup.html","videoUri":"nyt://video/57ce1443-a9c3-5d44-8833-b43b0e8ac91c","playerType":"nyt-betamax","videoType":"video","aspectRatio":"3:2","videoSection":"Story"}}}{"visibleWhen":["before-play"]}{"url":"https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/12/12/multimedia/12int-palestinians-soccer-vlfq/12int-palestinians-soccer-vlfq-threeByTwoLargeAt2X-v3.jpg"}‘We Came to Cheer Ourselves Up’: Soccer Offers Gazans Rare Joy{"controls":["play","fullscreen","mute","share","scrubber"],"share":{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000010583150/gaza-palestine-soccer-arab-cup.html","text":"Share this video"}}Palestinians in Gaza braved bad weather to gather on Thursday night to watch their national soccer team play Saudi Arabia in the knockout stages of the Arab Cup.CreditCredit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesThank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT
WorldWorld
For 2 Hours, a Soccer Match Offers Palestinians a Rarity: Joy
Loading article...
AI Index
Neutral / Balanced
Facts presented without strong bias.
