Gaza celebrates World Cup victory of Spanish team they took into their hearts | World Cup 2026
While the Spanish football team’s World Cup victory was celebrated in the streets of Gaza, Spain’s support for the rights of Palestinians and Israel’s support for the Argentinian team turned the competition into more than a football match.
Gathering in cafes and open-air screenings, Palestinians defied the risk of Israeli attack and cheered on their favorite team.
Many Spanish flags commemorated young star Lamine Yamal, who brought a Palestinian flag to Barcelona’s La Liga win celebrations in May.
Gaza al-Irada amputee football team wrote in a statement before the match, “The person who flies the Palestinian flag deserves to lift the World Cup.” video message For the Spanish team.
Saadi al-Masri, 40, captain of the amputee team in Gaza, watched the match in a cafe with his friends. “I support Spain because we see it as a country that stands by the Palestinian cause and supports the rights of Palestinians,” he said.
Spain is among Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s war on Gaza and state-sponsored violence in the occupied West Bank. He is pressing for stronger European Union action on human rights abuses, including suspending a broad free trade agreement.
When the Israeli defense minister attacked Yamal for hoisting the Palestinian flag and accused him of “inciting hatred”, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was quick to defend the young actor.
“Lamine expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions in Spain alone. Another reason to be proud of him,” he said in a social media post.
Israel’s support for Argentina was led by Netanyahu, who developed close relations with far-right president Javier Milei and issued a good-luck message to the team ahead of the final.
The Palestinian delegation at the United Nations responded to this with a picture of the Spanish team under the title “world champions”.
Even enthusiastic fans in Gaza had difficulty following the World Cup matches. Many of the region’s 2 million Palestinians live in tent camps with little access to electricity or internet connections after Israeli attacks destroyed their homes.
Every morning during the tournament, 23-year-old Arkan al-Walaida would go to internet cafes and search for short videos on TikTok or FIFA’s official YouTube and Instagram pages to learn the highlights of the match.
He was stunned when he learned Spain had won on Monday. “I honestly felt like I was going to cry with happiness,” she said. “We see their support as a sign of humanity.”
Al-Masri watched the match in a cafe filled with an excited crowd. “We were very happy when the final whistle confirmed Spain’s victory,” he said, but fear of Israeli air strikes meant there would be no partying late into the night.
In early July, Palestinian aid worker Mohammed al-Wahidi, who was organizing screenings of World Cup matches in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli bomb.
The attack, which took place just before the match between Egypt and Argentina, also killed eight- and 10-year-old brothers and a second person. The Israeli military confirmed the attack but said it did not target al-Wahidi.
