Palestinian football players with limb amputations tucked crutches under their arms and gathered on a field in central Gaza for a tournament organized for amputee athletes.

Some of the players lost limbs during the 2018-2019 border demonstrations, known as the Great March of Return.

Others were injured during the recent two-year war with Israel, which began on October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and gunmen took roughly 250 hostages.

Gaza health officials say over 69,000 Palestinians have died in the Israel-Hamas war.

On Monday players lined up - many balancing on one leg - leaning on their crutches as they waited for the whistle.

Once the match began, players swung forward on their crutches, chasing the ball, pivoting and sending passes across the field.

Shadi Abu Ermanah, technical director of the Palestine Amputee Football team, said they were supposed to be participating in the World Cup qualifiers in Jakarta, Indonesia,, but that the war and border closures had prevented them from travelling.

“However, we will not lose hope. Therefore, we came to this tournament, titled ‘Hope,’ to revive hope and bring smiles to the faces of all people with disabilities in general, and amputees in particular,” he told The Associated Press.

The match was held on a small field, with a modest crowd standing along the touchline.

The referee’s whistle cut through the air every few minutes.

Near one goalpost, the goalkeeper’s prosthetic arm rested on the ground as he guarded the net.

One of the players, Madi Nawasra, said he was a football player before the war but lost his leg after an attack on his house last year.

"Now that my leg is amputated, I am still determined to continue playing football,” he said.