Thousands of people are running the Palestine Marathon under the shadow of Israel’s war in Gaza Israel-Palestine War News

The 10th Palestine International Marathon has been held in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, with a similar race held in Gaza after a two-year hiatus caused by Israel’s war on the Strip.

The 42km race began at 6am local time (03:00 GMT) on Friday, with thousands of Palestinian and international runners gathered at the starting point, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Marathon director Itidal Abdul Ghani said this year’s race has a message of “national unity,” with runners on both sides of Israel’s apartheid regime taking part in the event at the same time. A separate race of 5km was established in central Gaza, running from the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the north.

Organizers also held races in several countries between 17 and 21 April, attracting more than 5,000 participants from 88 countries. Overall, the number of runners exceeded 13,000, including 2,523 in Gaza and nearly 1,000 foreign participants from 75 countries.

The event had several categories, including a full race, a 21km half marathon, a 10km race and a 5km family run, allowing the participation of professional runners, enthusiasts and families. It is organized by the Palestinian Higher Council for Youth and Sports, the Palestinian Olympic Committee and the Betelehem Municipality.

This year’s competition was against the circumstances of the continuation of the Israeli attack on Gaza despite the “end of the war,” and the escalation of violence across the occupied West Bank since October 2023. Palestinian officials say that at least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed and about 11,750 injured in the West Bank since the beginning of the Israeli war and 0 22,000 in Gaza. In Gaza, at least 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 172,000 injured, according to government officials.

Running through the streets of Bethlehem and along the streets lined with checkpoints and the separation wall, many of the participants carried Palestinian flags or wore keffiyehs, making the race a sport and a peaceful resistance and solidarity with Gaza.