Hundreds take part in reconciliation marathon in Gaza

The race involved runners, cyclists and paralympic athletes in a celebration of the reconciliation between the Palestinian political factions

The Palestinian Athletics Federation in the Gaza Strip organises a marthon to mark the end to internal divisions [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Hundreds of men and women took part in a reconciliation marathon organised by the Palestine Athletic Federation (PAF) in Gaza on Friday, MEMO’s correspondent in the enclave has reported.

The race involved runners, cyclists and paralympic athletes in a celebration of the reconciliation between the Palestinian political factions, sending what was described as a “message of hope” to the world.

The event was marred, however, when a crane collapsed onto participants and onlookers. Palestinian medical sources said that 23 people were wounded, one of them seriously. Most were treated on the spot, though, or were able to leave hospital immediately after receiving first aid.

The Palestinian Athletics Federation in the Gaza Strip organises a marthon to mark the end to internal divisions [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.