After the terror, Al-Mushtal Sports Club helps children in Gaza to recover

by Mohammed Asad

Al-Mushtal Sports Club in Gaza, on 7 December 2025 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Al-Mushtal Sports Club in Gaza, on 7 December 2025 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

As soon as residents returned to Gaza City, Captain Hassan Al-Ra‘i looked at the club building, which had been destroyed and burned by the Israeli war machine. Despite the painful, heartbreaking, and difficult psychological conditions residents were living through, this did not stop Captain Hassan. He found it necessary to move forward with sports and with life itself.

He gathered dozens of children through his new humanitarian initiative: psychological recovery through sports. Captain Hassan says the children were exposed to many harsh scenes and difficult conditions during the war. The occupation army used every possible means of killing and destruction, leaving many children with deep fears and severe psychological distress.

“At the club, we decided to bring in as many children as possible, collect the club’s scattered belongings from the streets, and find the simplest ways to create a space that helps children rebuild their self-confidence,” he said. This includes musical games as well as physical exercises for self-defence. The purpose of these exercises is to help children regain confidence after the waves of fear and terror they endured. The initiative was met with positive engagement from the community.

Captain Hassan emphasised that all sports facilities of various types — fields and clubs — suffered damage. He stressed that the world and international institutions must take action to provide what is needed to help revive this essential part of life for residents and for the young generation that forms the backbone of Palestinian society.

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