Amid Israel's war on Gaza, cyclist Alaa al-Daly fights for a chance at glory | Cycling

In March 2018, Gaza cycling champion Alaa al-Daly was still six months away from realising his goal of representing Palestine at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

A few days later, an Israeli sniper shot al-Daly in the leg as he took part in the “Great March of Return,” a massive wave of protests at the Israel-Gaza border organized by Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip against the expropriation of their land.

The bullet shattered al-Dalys' right leg bone, which was 22 centimeters in diameter, and destroyed his lifelong dream of competing in the Olympic Games as a cyclist.

Even as a non-disabled athlete, it was almost impossible for al-Daly to take part in international competitions. The Israeli authorities had rejected his request to leave the besieged Gaza Strip. In protest against the ban, al-Daly, then 21, appeared at the march wearing a helmet and full cycling gear.

He lost the lower half of his right leg.

Al-Daly's fate was disturbingly common – 81 percent of Israeli shots at the 2018 march targeted protesters' legs, a United Nations report found. As a result, 122 Palestinians had to have their legs amputated.

The Gaza Sunbirds take off

Israeli violence and the resulting amputation did little to deter al-Daly from cycling. Instead, he founded the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team made up of athletes who lost their limbs in the 2018 protests and other Israeli attacks. His team of 20 cyclists is a testament to the resilience of athletes who have been painfully separated from their sport by Israeli violence.

As Israel's war against Gaza continues, paracyclists have joined forces for another cause.

The Gaza Sunbirds have used their international recognition to raise funds for those affected by the war and use their bicycles to distribute aid through the rubble-strewn streets of their homeland.

So far, the group's international fundraising campaign has raised more than $300,000. They have used the money to distribute 72 tons of food, provide shelter to 225 people, prepare more than 7,000 hot meals and provide $25,000 in scholarships to people with disabilities in Gaza. The Sunbirds have also partnered with Palestinian NGO Sharek Youth Forum to build a refugee camp – a 25-tent facility with food supplied by the World Central Kitchen.

“During the war, there were hardly any cars, but with our bicycles we could even ride through the destroyed streets,” al-Daly told Al Jazeera, pointing to the extent of the damage to infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

“By bike we can get to our destination, in contrast to the limitations we face as amputees.”

Part 1 of this week's relief effort: Our team is cooking hot meals and distributing them to as many people as possible!

Our team in Gaza is not giving up! We draw strength from each other and are happy that our evacuated team members can compete internationally💪🏽❤️ 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/c5TZkTErsR

– gazasunbirds (@gazasunbirds) 27 April 2024

Cycling as a form of resistance

Despite months of war, al-Daly refused to give up his dreams.

The 26-year-old continued training for his long-awaited chance at redemption at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

“Even before my amputation, it was my dream to take part in the Olympic Games,” said al-Daly.

“This is our first step towards success as Palestinian athletes. It is our right to participate in international competitions.”

Qualifying for the Paralympics is tough but almost impossible for athletes from Gaza, who must regularly earn points by placing highly in competitions around the world.

However, the Israeli blockade prevents athletes from Gaza from leaving the enclave without special permission, which is usually refused. And that was also the case for the Sunbirds before the war began in October.

“We have been trying to send our athletes to races for the past two years, but due to visa issues, the siege and our inability to travel, we have not been able to,” Karim Ali, team manager of the National Cycling Federation of Palestine (NCFP) and co-founder of the Gaza Sunbirds, told Al Jazeera.

In April, al-Daly was evacuated to Egypt, giving him a glimmer of hope that he could take part in the year's remaining para-cycling competitions and qualify for Paris. His wife and three young children were unable to leave Gaza.

While al-Daly took part in qualifying competitions in Belgium, Italy and Kazakhstan, grim news continued to arrive from his homeland.

His family originally comes from Rafah and has been displaced several times. They are suffering from food and water shortages. According to doctors in Gaza, two of his children recently fell ill due to toxins from ammunition.

“The rockets fired at Gaza are wreaking havoc and spreading viruses in the air. The destruction is immense,” al-Daly said. “I cannot forget the war and the horrors our families are facing.”

The war, which has been going on for almost eleven months, is also affecting the other Sunbirds, who have given up participating in competitions to focus on seeking asylum outside the Gaza Strip.

“My house in Gaza was destroyed and I fled seven times. My shop was destroyed and I lived in a tent for months,” said Mohammed Abu Asfour, a 24-year-old Sunbirds paracyclist who also lost a leg during the Great March of Return.

“After I left, I was afraid for my family in Gaza, especially after the attack on Rafah and the closure of the border,” said Abu Asfour. “What I have been through in the last few months has taken a toll on me.”

Heartbreak at the Paralympics in Paris

As the Paralympics approached, al-Daly was the only Sunbird vying for a spot at the Games.

But even then, al-Daly said, he never had a direct path to Olympic qualification. He missed too many international competitions because of the Israeli blockade. His only hope was to apply for a so-called bipartite slot, which grants athletes an exception for reasons of inclusivity and diversity, even if they may not meet the qualification standards.

“Other countries have been participating for two years and collecting points,” said al-Daly. “So even if we had come first, [in the qualifying races]we wouldn’t get the points we need.”

Recently, he experienced further disappointment when he learned that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had rejected his application for a bipartite place.

“I was hoping to represent Palestine and raise its flag,” said al-Daly, who was training in Malaysia when he received the devastating news. “They should have taken into account the conditions of the war we are in and accepted my application.”

An IPC official told Al Jazeera that it had received “a record number of applications from both parties for broadcast slots” for the Paris Games.

“It was decided not to award Alaa al-Daly a place as other athletes in the same class had applied for places with better qualifying times,” the official said.

For the cycling champion from Gaza, receiving the news was an “extremely difficult moment”.

“It was an indescribable feeling of sadness, grief and frustration,” al-Daly said.

There is a silver lining, however. In June, al-Daly achieved good enough results at the Asian Para-Cycling Road Championships in Kazakhstan to qualify for the 2024 UCI Road and Para-Cycling Road World Championships in Zurich – the second biggest para-cycling event of the year.

“For the past month, we have been working on a professional training program with brand new tools to take our training to the next level. I finally feel great progress,” said al-Daly with renewed hope.

“The bike is a part of me – it’s all I have.”

This article was published in collaboration with Egab.