Harare, (New Ziana) – The Embassy of Palestine in Zimbabwe on Friday marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with an amputees’ soccer tournament held in Ruwa, using sport as a platform to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the wider Palestinian territories.
Speaking to journalists at the event, Palestinian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dr Tamar Almassri, strongly condemned what he described as Israel’s continued violation of the ceasefire agreement reached on 11 October 2025.
“The Palestinian people are suffering under the Israeli genocide because the ceasefire that we reached on the 11th of October 2025, unfortunately Israel is violating it every day,” he said.
Dr Almassri said more than 300 Palestinian civilians had been killed since the ceasefire came into effect, while Israel had tightened the blockade on the Gaza Strip. He accused Israel of destroying the health sector, denying access to medication, displacing Palestinians from their homeland, expanding settlements in the West Bank, and enforcing a network of over 1 000 checkpoints and gates which he likened to the former Southern Rhodesia apartheid system.
The ambassador paid tribute to Zimbabwe for its unwavering solidarity with Palestine, especially over the past two years of conflict, which he said had resulted in the deaths of over 68 000 Palestinians, with more than 11 000 others still missing.
He added that 169 000 Palestinians had been injured, including 15 000 amputees, many of whom lost limbs due to what he called targeted attacks on civilians.
“For this reason, today the soccer match for the amputees is a solidarity message with the Palestinian amputees who lost their limbs. Their lives changed forever because the Israel apartheid occupation targeted our civilians,” he said.
Dr Almassri also expressed concern over what he described as the international community’s silence in the face of Israel’s occupation and military actions. He said more than 95 percent of houses in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed, with Israel now controlling over 60 percent of the territory.
He further applauded the Zimbabwean government, particularly President Emmerson Mnangagwa, for standing firmly with the Palestinian people at a time he said required moral courage and international unity.
The commemorative tournament brought together amputee athletes, community members and diplomats in a display of resilience and solidarity, underscoring the human cost of the conflict and the growing calls for a lasting and genuine peace.
