'Babies dying every day': Emotional Ons Jabeur on Gaza's plight

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Ons Jabeur has pledged to donate part of her prize money from the WTA Finals to Palestinian aid as the Tunisian tennis star broke down in tears while calling for peace.

Jabeur, seeded sixth, earned her first win at the season-finale tournament in Cancun, Mexico by claiming a measure of revenge against Marketa Vondrousova, defeating the Wimbledon champion 6-4, 6-3 to keep alive her hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.

The world No 7 had lost her previous three matches against the Czech this year – at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, before most notably in the Wimbledon final.

However, tennis was far from Jabeur’s mind when she gave an emotional on-court interview following Wednesday night’s match.

Since Israel began its air strikes and incursions on Gaza, in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed about 1,400 Israelis and led to the kidnapping of about 240 people, more than 9,000 Palestinians, including 3,760 children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israel-Gaza war has also led to a worsening humanitarian crisis, with people in Gaza denied access to basic essentials including water, food, electricity, and medical supplies.

Jabeur, one of the most prominent Arab athletes in all of sports, made an emotional plea and said part of her winnings would be donated to help Palestinian civilians.

“I’m very happy with the win but I haven’t been very happy lately, to be honest with you. The situation in the world doesn’t make me happy, so I feel like …” Jabeur, 29, said before breaking down in tears.

“It’s very tough seeing children, babies, dying every day. It’s heartbreaking, so I have decided to donate