Palestine's first ever Olympian dies in Gaza from lack of treatment
Majed Abu Maraheel, Palestine's first Olympian and flagbearer, succumbed to kidney failure caused by medical shortages amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and the subsequent humanitarian crisis.
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When Palestinian runner Majed Abu Maraheel crossed the finish line in the men’s 10,000-meter race at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games, his result didn't matter: he had already made history as Palestine’s first ever Olympian.
Since then, over 20 Palestinian men and women have followed in Abu Maraheel’s footsteps, competing on the Olympic stage and solidifying his status as a pioneering figure in Palestinian sports history.
However, the Palestinian icon drew his last breath on Wednesday at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, succumbing to kidney failure caused by power outages and medical shortages amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
"He was a Palestinian icon, and he will remain as such," his brother told Paltoday TV after the funeral. "We tried to evacuate him to Egypt but then the Rafah crossing was closed (by Israel), and his condition kept deteriorating."
In a statement on Facebook, the Palestine Athletics Federation said, "The great one is gone. The good one is gone. Our Olympic runner is gone. He carried the flag and ran on the Atlanta tracks with tears in his eyes. He was the one who made the world stop and witness Palestine in 1996."
“The Palestinian Football Federation, its board, and game cadres express their deepest condolences to the Palestinian sports family and Abu Maraheel family,” the federation added.
Abu Maraheel's death underscores the grim reality of many Palestinians who are facing kidney failure in Gaza due to the lack of medical services, healthcare infrastructure, and other necessities.
This is particularly evident in the Nuseirat refugee camp where Abu Maraheel died. The camp, which was established following the Nakba—the 1948 expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians—is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians. The camp has been bombed repeatedly since the start of the war, most recently during a hostage rescue operation that saw at least 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry. The EU’s top diplomat referred to the operation as a massacre.
Abu Maraheel’s death also emphasizes the toll that the ongoing war has taken on Palestinian athletes. Of the more than 37,000 Palestinians killed by Israel’s assault on the strip, more than 300 were athletes and sports officials, according to Palestinian Olympic Committee head Jibril Rajoub.
“In spite of all the difficulties and the challenges and the general atmosphere, someone was qualified” for the Olympics, Rajoub said during a press conference in Ramallah on Wednesday, referring to Palestinian taekwondo athlete Omar Yaser Ismail. “I believe that in the end, we will have between six to eight [athletes in Paris].”
Ismail made history over the weekend at the Asian Qualifying Tournament in Tai'an, China, becoming the first Palestinian taekwondo athlete to earn a ticket to the Olympic Games, and the first Palestinian to directly qualify in an Olympic combat sport, defeating opponents from the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia to achieve the historic feat.
Rajoub also revealed that a Palestinian weightlifter had lost 20 kgs due the humanitarian crisis caused by the war—a fate which many Palestinians are forced to endure—and hoped that the upcoming Paris Games will bring more attention to the war on Gaza and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, where more than 500 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.
“Paris is a historic, and a great moment to go there and to tell the world that it’s the time to say stop, enough is enough,” Rajoub said, adding that “the Israelis lost their legal right and moral right to attend as long as they continue their crimes” in Gaza.
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