On April 25, the 10th Palestine International Marathon was held in the city of Bethlehem, West Bank, with a parallel race also taking place in Gaza after a two-year hiatus due to war.
The 42-km long-distance race began at 6 a.m. local time, with thousands of Palestinian and international athletes gathering at the traditional starting point, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. According to marathon coordinator Itidal Abdul Ghani, this year’s race carried a message of “unity of the homeland,” as athletes from both sides of Israel’s separation barrier participated simultaneously.
A 5 km run was also organized in central Gaza, starting from the Wadi Gaza Bridge and heading north. Organizers also held a virtual marathon in various countries from April 17 to 21, drawing over 5,000 participants from 88 countries. The total number of athletes exceeded 13,000, including 2,523 in Gaza and about 1,000 foreigners from 75 nations.
The event featured multiple categories: a full marathon, a half marathon of 21 km, a 10 km run, and a 5 km family run, allowing professional athletes, amateurs, and families to take part. It was organized by the Palestinian Youth and Sports Council, the Palestinian Olympic Committee, and the Bethlehem Municipality.
This year’s marathon took place as Israeli attacks on Gaza persisted despite a “ceasefire,” alongside rising violence across the West Bank since October 2023. Palestinian officials reported that at least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 11,750 wounded in the West Bank since the start of the Israel–Gaza war, along with 22,000 arrests. In Gaza, at least 72,000 Palestinians have died and more than 172,000 have been injured, according to local authorities.
Athletes ran through Bethlehem’s streets, hemmed in by checkpoints and the separation wall, many carrying Palestinian flags or wearing keffiyehs, viewing the marathon as both a sporting event and an act of peaceful resistance, expressing solidarity with Gaza.
