This 11-year-old boy does gymnastics on the rubble of Gaza as the war continues
For many child athletes, playing sports usually takes place in the gym, or on an outdoor or indoor court. But for Wassim Naqqar, the war in Gaza has forced him to practice in unusual places – on top of a demolished building, in refugee tent camps and sometimes on the sand by the sea.
This 11-year-old boy took first place in gymnastics in the Palestinian territories before the war started. But after he was forced to flee northern Gaza in April as fighting raged in the area, he left the Palestine Club in Sheikh Redwan, where he was to train in gymnastics, yoga and parkour, a sport that combines running, swinging and running in urban areas.
Favorite game out of the three? Gymnastics. But because the region is war-torn, he says he often ends up practicing in the rubble.
“When the war started [it] he destroyed everything,” said Naqqar.
Gymnastics is something she says she is good at: “I don’t let anyone beat me at it.”
My brother, my sister was killed in the war
Naqqar, who started doing parkour and gymnastics at the age of four, was set to take part in competitions in the Middle East, Canada and India. But after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, those dreams were dashed.
Now, Naqqar finds himself scavenging in the ruins of a refugee camp.
Naqqar’s brother, sister, uncle and cousin were all killed in the war. He says his brother was his biggest fan.
“I have no one left. Where can we go? There are no safe places to go.”
The war began following an October 7 attack led by Hamas in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s response to the line has killed more than 41,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Wassim Naqqar, 11, trains his shoulders in the desert near the refugee camp built west of Khan Younis in Gaza, hoping that one day he will be able to return to his sports club in the north. He and his father recently began training about 60 children in gymnastics and parkour, to keep them moving, as the Israel-Hamas war approaches one year.
Gymnastics stopped after my father was arrested
Among those who died in Gaza, there were about 300 athletes, referees, coaches and others in the field of sports, according to the technical director of the Palestinian Olympic Committee who reported this number to the Associated Press in July.
His father, Hab Al-Din Naqqar, says the family fled northern Gaza on April 28 to Rafah for safety. Just two months later, he says he was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on June 2 and held for about three months.
CBC News contacted the IDF asking about Naqqar’s arrest, but it said it could not provide any information or confirm the details.
When Naqqar was released, he says his son was not the same.
“The feeling was pure torture,” said Naqqam, who revealed that he was unable to train at all during the three months his father was away. “I didn’t see my father being taken in front of me.”
“At the moment, we are training Wassim and trying to give him strength again,” said Hab Al-Din Naqqar. “We give him hope and strength again.”
As Israel’s war with Hamas rages on in Gaza after more than three months, these young men find happy moments as part of a group that distributes the remains of the destroyed areas. Some days, children from a nearby refugee camp gather to watch them run, jump and explore the ruins.
Training 60 children in a war-torn area
He says he and his son recently started helping train about 60 children in gymnastics and parkour. Although they only started two weeks ago, Naqqar says it has given them a way to help keep other children moving during the war.
“An athlete who is not killed is injured. If they are not injured, they have anemia due to malnutrition,” said Hab Al-Din Naqqar.
“About 90 percent of the athletes here have lost their athletic abilities.”
As resources are scarce under the current conditions, he says the two can do a lot to keep the sport alive in the region.
As Israel’s war with Hamas approaches its one-year climax, Wassim Naqqar said he finds joy in exercising and continuing to exercise, even though he doesn’t know when he will be able to return to the sport.
Whether it is sorting out ruins or riding in a refugee camp, he says he hopes that one day he will be able to return to local and international competitions.
“God willing, the war will end so I can go represent Palestine in the world and fulfill my brother’s dream. [for me],” he said.
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