Surfers in war-torn Gaza find rare moments of joy taking to the waves

Despite the severe shortages and devastation in Gaza, a handful of surfers in Gaza City continue to hold onto the sport they love.

Tahseen Abu Assi, one of the few remaining surfers in the strip, said only “three or four surfers” are still practicing because of the lack of equipment and the impossibility of replacing damaged boards.

“Most of them left this sport because there are no boards and there’s no equipment for these boards. The board gets damaged and there’s nothing to replace it, or parts, to repair these boards,” he said.

According to Abu Assi, no new surfboards have entered Gaza since 2007. During repeated displacements caused by the war, he said he protected his surfboard above all else.

“I was displaced with it four to five times,” he said, “I used to evacuate with it, before I evacuated with my family, because it’s the only one I have.”

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

While the heaviest fighting has mostly subsided since a fragile ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce. Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Palestinians in Gaza are still contending with myriad daily struggles.

“There is fear of course, but we can’t leave this sport,” he said. “During the war, in the middle of the war, in the middle of the bombing and the planes above us, we used to go down and practice this sport.”