On October 6, 2023, Palestinian karate champion Mais Elbostami went to bed thrilled after winning a competition in the Gaza Strip. When she woke up the next day, she faced a different world.
“I won first place,” the shy 18-year-old told AFP from a Cairo suburb where her family now lives after fleeing the war and where she is training in the hope of one day representing her country internationally.
He said he “didn’t even keep the medals” he won on October 6 when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to an AFP count based on Israeli figures.
As Israel launched a sustained retaliatory military operation, he and his family fled their home in the northern Gaza Strip to the south.
Warfare over the past nine months has left much of the besieged Palestinian territory in rubble and killed more than 38,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
Amid the hell of bombing and displacement, “every hour that passed felt like you aged a year,” Elbostami said.
Death was all around him.
“Within the first 10 days I lost my coach, Jamal Al-Khairi, and his granddaughter, who used to train with me,” he said.
When the family arrived in the Egyptian capital in April, Elbostami had two things on his mind: ensuring the safety of his relatives at home, and returning to his karate training.
‘raise the flag’
Despite being stranded in Gaza, Palestinian national team coach Hassan Al-Ray put her in touch with the Egyptian team and within two weeks she was back on the pitch.
“My coaches here in Egypt have almost adopted me, and they are working with me so that I can become good enough to compete in the next championships,” she said.
Whenever she gets the chance, she practices on the mat. But due to limited resources and gym time, Elbostami also has to train in the streets and gardens around her home.
She often finds her mind wandering to Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
“Training at home was different. Every Friday, me and my teammates would go to the beach to train,” he said.
Karate is known for its special focus on discipline and self-control, and this has helped young karateka to “detach from reality” – even if only for a short time, as they have to live as refugees from a brutal war.
“Sometimes my emotions get the best of me,” she said. “There were times when I couldn’t get through an entire session without thinking, ‘We were running on foot because there were air strikes all around us.'”
Albostami tries to focus on her goal – “representing her country and flying its flag at international competitions”.
‘This is for my country’
She still has a long way to go, and her first stop on that journey is the Egyptian National Championships in August.
“This is a difficult challenge, as Egyptian karate athletes have historically outperformed their Palestinian counterparts,” he said.
“But it will also raise my level.”
Elbostami’s Egyptian coach Mamdouh Salim told AFP that the teenager was a “very capable, dedicated and determined player.”
“We are working on her technique, but ultimately karate is a sport of skill more than talent – I expect Mace to excel at it.”
He said he wanted to help them fly the Palestinian flag around the world.
“If we cannot fight alongside them in Gaza, at least we can help them represent their country abroad”, he said, echoing Egypt’s widespread solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
His Gazan teammates, coaches and most of his relatives remain trapped in Gaza — and he said dozens of them have been killed — but against all odds, Elbostami has survived.
“So I have no excuse to stop myself from achieving my goal,” he said.
“I will do everything I can to highlight the Palestinian issue. Every championship and every time I represent Palestine, it is for my country, the martyrs and the wounded.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)