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

The handful of Gaza surfers are challenged in their passion by a lack of equipment, Israeli military restrictions and a dearth of good waves

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Despite the dire humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip, where a fragile ceasefire remains in place, a handful of Palestinian surfers are finding joy — and relief — riding the waves of the territory’s Mediterranean coastal waters.

Only three or four men still surf due to a shortage of surfboards and the materials needed to fix damaged ones, said Tahseen Abu Assi, a surfer in Gaza City.

Abu Assi carried his surfboard with him through every displacement he endured during the two-year war because, he said, he wouldn’t be able to replace it.

“If something happened to it I won’t be able to get another one,” he said, noting that no boards have entered the Palestinian territory since 2007, when Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority and took control of the Strip.

Surfboards are among sports equipment and other products that are banned by Israel, which prohibits an array of dual-use items that could be used to carry out terror attacks on Israel.

On Tuesday, Abu Assi was among three surfers who took to the sea off the Gaza City port, including Khalil Abu Jiab, who rode the high waves with his arms raised in joy.

After the war began, following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that included seaborne attacks on Israeli beachgoers, the Israeli military heavily restricted sea activity in Gaza.

Fishing and swimming are prohibited and dangerous in the waters off northern and southern Gaza. It’s also risky to enter the waters off central Gaza, where Gaza City is located, due to Israeli patrols.

“There is fear, of course, but we can’t leave this sport,” Abu Assi 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.”

Gaza’s waves rarely rise high enough for surfing, so when they do, surfers drop everything to get in the water, he added.

Intense fighting across the enclave eased after a shaky ceasefire took effect on October 10, but deadly Israeli strikes have continued, with both Hamas and Israel accusing each other of violating the truce. Israel says it targets imminent threats to troops.

Israel’s war with Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, after the terror group attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed 72,628 Palestinians, according to the latest figures by Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Palestinians continue to struggle to secure food, clean water, medical care and shelter after the war caused widespread destruction, dismantled healthcare infrastructure and displaced most of the territory’s residents.

But for the territory’s few surfers, there is relief, even if only fleeting, when they take to the waves.

“As soon as the sea gets high, you leave your work and leave your whole life,” Abu Assi said. “Work can be caught up on, as they say. We go practice this sport.”

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report