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ConflictGaza residents watch World Cup final amid rubble as Spain beats Argentina 1-0
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Hundreds of Gaza residents, many children, gathered around giant screens amid the rubble of their homes to watch the 2026 World Cup final, where Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time. The crowd cheered for Spain because of the country's support for Palestinians during the conflict with Israel. The screenings, organized by aid workers to boost morale, offered a brief respite from daily hardships. Tragically, Mohammed al-Wahidi, a 65-year-old aid worker who helped organize the screenings, was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier in July. The article notes that at least 73,118 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and that 593 aid workers have been killed, according to the UN.
Source report
Football fans, many of them children, gathered among the rubble to support Spain as they defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time.
Publication date: 2026-07-20 14:12:58 By: Jeremy Armstrong, News Reporter Source: Mirror Sport
An estimated 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch the World Cup final — but few fans were as devoted as the hundreds who gathered around giant screens in the bombed-out streets of Gaza.
Standing amid the rubble of their homes, residents cheered for Spain as the team beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time. The support for the Spanish side was driven by the country's solidarity with Gaza during the conflict with Israel.
Giant screens, erected earlier in the tournament, have offered residents a welcome respite from daily hardships.
Numan Abdullah, a Gaza resident who watched the match, said: "We came together to support Spain because it has stood by the Palestinian people for years."
He added that the gathering also carried a message of peace and solidarity with countries that stand with Palestinians. "We are a people who seek peace," he said.
Aid Worker Killed
Tragically, Mohammed al-Wahidi, an aid worker who helped organise the screenings, died in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month.
Al-Wahidi, 65, was an English teacher before the war but became a senior official with the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza. He worked for the Egypt-backed organisation that has played a prominent role in humanitarian relief efforts.
Locals said he became a familiar face in shelters across the territory because he preferred to remain in the field rather than directing operations from an office.
As of late April, the UN had recorded the killing of at least 593 aid workers since the war began, including eight since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire 10 months ago.
Screenings Aimed at Raising Morale
Aid workers set up the World Cup game screenings in an effort to raise morale in the camps, especially among young children. The matches shown included the controversial 3-2 defeat of Egypt by Argentina.
Background
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. That attack saw 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.
At least 73,118 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Their figures are considered reliable by the UN.
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Source
Mirror - FootballWestern
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Gaza residents watch World Cup final amid bombed-out homes