Hundreds of children in Gaza participated in the August 26 event, as essential members of the global campaign that involved 25 countries around the world.
They participated in their thousands, from Italy to Australia and from the United States to Chile.
Swimmers from all over the world took part in the ‘SwimWithGaza’ campaign, which aims at raising awareness of the hermetic siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza itself, hundreds of children participated in the August 26 event, as essential members of the global campaign that involved 25 countries around the world.
“Since 2007 the people of Gaza have been imprisoned. They have no parks, no mountains, no valleys,” the campaign website read, adding: “Let’s join them in the sea for a solidarity swim on August 26th.”
The international campaign was organized in partnership with the local Tantish Swimming Academy, which holds annual swimming festivals in Gaza.
Nidal Hamdouna, the director of the Academy, said that it is important to draw “the world’s attention to the reality experienced by more than 2.3 million people in Gaza, especially by children.”
Gaza has been placed under a hermetic Israeli siege since 2007, only to be interrupted by major wars that killed thousands, mostly civilians.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
