Men’s wheelchair basketball tournament kicks off in Gaza

A view of the first match of the Wheelchair Basketball League, organized with the cooperation of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Paralympic Committee, in Gaza City, Gaza on August 15, 2021 [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency]

The fifth annual men’s wheelchair basketball tournament kicked off yesterday in the northern Gaza Strip after a hiatus of nearly 18 months due to the coronavirus and the Israeli aggression, Anadolu reported.

The tournament was organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in cooperation with the Palestinian Paralympic Committee six years ago and has been held annually ever since, however, last year’s tournament was postponed due to restrictions on social gatherings due to the coronavirus.

The director of the physical rehabilitation program at the ICRC, Ahmed Musa, told Anadolu that the tournament targets disabled young men between the ages of 20 and 30, adding that eight teams are competing in this year’s tournament.

READ: 3 children a month in Gaza left disabled for life

“The tournament seeks to improve their physical capabilities and rehabilitate them to be integrated into society,” he said.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 2019 the number of persons with disabilities in Palestine reached about 93,000 including 48,000 in the besieged Gaza Strip.

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