Latest news with #AhmedAlDali
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestinian paracyclist who lost leg in 2014 airstrike killed in Gaza
A Palestinian cyclist who lost his leg in an Israeli airstrike more than a decade ago was killed by another missile attack this week, after spending his life trying to defy his disability. Ahmed al-Dali, 33, was a member of the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team formed in 2020. He was also a keen para-footballer. 'Ahmed's death is really saddening. We don't want him to be just another number. His whole life, trying to compete, trying to get into sports, was because he didn't want to be another number, another one who lost his leg. Now we have to continue in his honour,' said Karim Ali, co-founder of the Gaza Sunbirds. Ali said Dali had suffered more than most since the Israeli airstrike in 2014 in which he lost a leg. He was declared dead after the strike and placed in a morgue before anyone realised he was still alive. He had to juggle his love for sport with the reality of providing a living for his wife and four children. He did not receive disability benefit from the government but earned a meagre living as a bike mechanic before the war. During the Israeli assault on Gaza after the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023 he was displaced from his home and had to rely on the help of others. He was killed on Monday in an attack on the city of Khan Younis, which Israel has ordered Palestinians to leave amid an intensified offensive over recent days that killed 85 Palestinians on Tuesday. Palestinian media reported up to 30 airstrikes in Khan Younis on the morning Dali was killed. Israel has vowed to press on with its offensive and take complete control of Gaza, despite criticism this week from allies, with the UK saying it would suspend trade negotiations with Israel. Ali said Dali's troubles before his death were typical of many in the Gaza Sunbirds community. 'Their lives for almost two years now have been an unimaginable hell. The majority of the team cannot find food, they are sick with skin diseases, with rashes, there's no medicine for them or their family. Their prosthetics are damaged and cannot be serviced.' He added: 'Ahmed loved cycling, he always loved cycling, he always had the best intentions but life put pressure on him as a person.' Flavia Cappellini, an Italian film-maker who spent time with Dali while making a documentary about the cycling team, described him as 'somehow shy and exuberant at the same time'. She said Dali was committed to his family but sometimes struggled with the challenges he faced as a disabled man in Gaza trying to find employment. 'How do you work in a place that doesn't provide chances to people with disabilities? That tormented hm, especially in regards to his sports endeavours. That reality hit him so hard,' she said. 'He would cycle with his jeans on as he didn't have any other clothes but that didn't prevent him from experiencing freedom while on a bike. 'You could feel he was doing his best to come back from his injury trauma when he lost his leg in 2014. He wanted to succeed in sport as in life, but all the odds were against him.' Over the past 16 months, the Sunbirds have distributed $450,000 (£336,000) worth of aid across the Gaza Strip.
Sky News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Dad wrongly pronounced dead after 2014 Israeli bombing killed in airstrike, family says
A Palestinian man who was one of the first amputee members of a squad of para-cyclists in Gaza has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, his team has announced. Ahmed Al Dali was killed on Monday in an attack on the city of Khan Younis in the southern area of the besieged enclave, the Gaza Sunbirds team said. The 33-year-old father-of-four lost his leg in 2014 after an Israeli bombing in Gaza. At the time, he was initially pronounced dead and placed in a morgue, before his body was reassessed and his family discovered he was still alive. In a post on Instagram, the Gaza Sunbirds said they were "devastated" by Mr Dali's death, adding: "We are heartbroken. But we are also furious. This cannot continue." Mr Dali turned to para-sport "to prove that disability is not inability," the team said. He played para-football and then became one of the first amputee members of the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling squad in 2022. Mr Dali's cousin, Alaa Al Dali, a co-founder and team captain of Gaza Sunbirds, said on Monday: "Ahmed survived the missile that took his leg in 2014, but today a second missile took his life. "When we first started this journey, Ahmed was by my side. He was a great person filled with positivity and a love for sport. Today his life ended. It breaks my heart to have to continue our journey without him but we will keep going for all those who we lost during this genocide." 0:56 Karim Ali, co-founder and team manager of Gaza Sunbirds, said: "Ahmed's courage on the bike was matched only by his devotion to his children and his community." He added: "Our team is witnessing civilians being killed daily, the supply of weapons from international governments needs to stop. As a team working tirelessly to deliver aid over the last 16 months, there is nothing more we can do. It is time for real change. We don't want to lose more people." The Gaza Sunbirds formed in 2020 and have been working during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza to distribute $450,000 (£337,000) worth of aid across the strip. Israel launches new major offensive It comes after Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Tuesday hit a family home and a school that was being used as a shelter, killing at least 60 people, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has launched another major offensive in the territory with the aim of returning dozens of hostages still being held by Hamas and destroying the militant group. More than 300 people have been killed in the latest onslaught, the officials said. 1:05 Israel has agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the territory, where around two million people live. It follows a two-and-a-half-month blockade that prevented the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other goods, bringing warnings the area was at risk of famine. The war began in October 2023 when Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities near the border with Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza has displaced nearly all of the territory's 2.3 million residents and killed more than 53,000, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count of the number of dead.
Sky News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Para-cyclist Ahmed Al Dali killed by Israeli airstrike on Gaza, team says
A Palestinian man who was one of the first amputee members of a squad of para-cyclists in Gaza has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, his team has announced. Ahmed Al Dali was killed on Monday in an attack on the city of Khan Younis in the southern area of the besieged enclave, the Gaza Sunbirds team said. The 33-year-old father-of-four lost his leg in 2014 after an Israeli bombing in Gaza. At the time, he was initially pronounced dead and placed in a morgue, before his body was reassessed and his family discovered he was still alive. In a post on Instagram, the Gaza Sunbirds said they were "devastated" by Mr Dali's death, adding: "We are heartbroken. But we are also furious. This cannot continue." Mr Dali turned to para-sport "to prove that disability is not inability," the team said. He played para-football and then became one of the first amputee members of the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling squad in 2022. Mr Dali's cousin, Alaa Al Dali, a co-founder and team captain of Gaza Sunbirds, said on Monday: "Ahmed survived the missile that took his leg in 2014, but today a second missile took his life. "When we first started this journey, Ahmed was by my side. He was a great person filled with positivity and a love for sport. Today his life ended. It breaks my heart to have to continue our journey without him but we will keep going for all those who we lost during this genocide." 0:56 Karim Ali, co-founder and team manager of Gaza Sunbirds, said: "Ahmed's courage on the bike was matched only by his devotion to his children and his community." He added: "Our team is witnessing civilians being killed daily, the supply of weapons from international governments needs to stop. As a team working tirelessly to deliver aid over the last 16 months, there is nothing more we can do. It is time for real change. We don't want to lose more people." The Gaza Sunbirds formed in 2020 and have been working during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza to distribute $450,000 (£337,000) worth of aid across the strip. Israel launches new major offensive It comes after Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Tuesday hit a family home and a school that was being used as a shelter, killing at least 60 people, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has launched another major offensive in the territory with the aim of returning dozens of hostages still being held by Hamas and destroying the militant group. More than 300 people have been killed in the latest onslaught, the officials said. 1:05 Israel has agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the territory, where around two million people live. It follows a two-and-a-half-month blockade that prevented the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other goods, bringing warnings the area was at risk of famine. The war began in October 2023 when Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities near the border with Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
