As the war between Israel and Hamas has devastated the Gaza Strip, a group of determined athletes has been splitting their time between distributing aid and training for a shot at the Paris Paralympics.
The Gaza Sunbirds paracycling team of amputees had been preparing for races amid rubble since the war began.
Karim Ali co-founded the team with Alaa al-Dali, described by the group as "first professional paracyclist in Gaza".
Ali told Breakfast this morning: "In 'non-war' seasons, I guess you could call it, we are a paracycling team.
"Since the war started, we've also been distributing aid."
Ali said al-Dali was a champion cyclist before he was shot while protesting at the border with Israel, demonstrating against the restrictions on leaving the Gaza Strip – to compete in sporting events, for example.
Al-Dali's leg needed to be amputated: "He called it the amputation of his dream."
That's when Ali and al-Dali met, Ali said. Al-Dali was back on the bike within three months and the pair founded the team shortly after with the aim of giving other amputees in the Gaza Strip independence through cycling.
Ali spoke to Breakfast from Belgium this morning, where the Sunbirds were preparing for their qualification event at the weekend.
"I have to pinch myself to remember that we're in Belgium," he said.
"It's so difficult to get anything done in Gaza, the whole thing is like 38km from one end to the other so we've been trying to start a paracycling team but it's like a glorified prison yard.
"When you're on a bike, 38km is like walking from one side of the prison yard to the other.
"The race we're doing in Belgium... it's a 71km race so to train for that in Gaza, we have to go from wall to wall and back."
When the team began, many of the athletes didn't even have shoes, Ali added.
"They were wearing sandals and jeans and we were tying their feet onto the pedals with pieces of rope so that they could actually get to train," he said, adding the group's bikes were second-hand from Israel.
"And then visas are above all of this, it's just the cherry on top of the cake," Ali continued.
"You get everything done, you go to apply for a visa and you can't get a visa because we're in a constant state of war and a constant state of siege."
Some countries feared the athletes would arrive and then claim asylum, Ali said.
"Logically understandable, sure – but at the same time, it's like, we're athletes, we're trying our best to get out there to compete," he said.
"They can take your legs but they can't take your dreams," he added.
SHARE ME