Palestine team members checked anxiously for news from home even while they were competing at the Para Cycling Road World Championships at the weekend. The two riders were part of the Gaza Sunbirds, a para cycling team established for Gaza residents who lost their limbs in conflicts with Israel.

Mohammed Asfour nearly pulled out of Friday’s time trial in Ronse, Belgium, after being told his brother had just been killed. Frantic calls established the news wasn’t true.

Team co-founder Alaa al-Dali also fears the worst every day having already lost family members in the almost 23-month war. Displaced from Rafah, al-Dali’s family is sheltering in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Al-Dali and Asfour are based in Belgium after evacuating from Gaza in April last year. They keep racing to

See Full Page