Palestinian Paralympian trapped in Gaza says 'doing all we can to survive'

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While many Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls are training and competing to secure their places for the Summer Games in Paris, two-time Paralympic medallist Husam Azzam is trapped with his family in the north of Gaza.

They are struggling to survive and sheltering in their home, which has been badly damaged in the continuing war.

“There is constant bombing around us. We are hungry and we don’t have enough food and supplies,” Azzam tells The National.

He is a five-time Paralympian who first competed at Sydney 2000.

Azzam is Palestine's most successful athlete at the Paralympics, winning a bronze medal in Sydney and then a silver in Athens 2004 in the men’s shot put – F53/54 category.

He was the sole Palestinian representative at Tokyo 2020 under immensely difficult circumstances. Now his only focus is on keeping him and his family alive.

Since the Israeli bombardment began in Gaza almost six months ago, more than 32,400 Palestinians have been killed, many of them in northern Gaza where Azzam lives.

The Israeli military began its offensive after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages back to Gaza

On October 13, less than one week into the fighting, Israel ordered the UN to evacuate northern Gaza, instructing residents to move south.

As hundreds of thousands fled to the south, some were bombed by Israel as they travelled along a supposedly safe route, a tactic that has been deployed regularly by the Israelis.

Azzam is one of the roughly 300,000 Palestinians left in northern Gaza, cut off from aid and facing starvation.

“I have to stay here because I can’t move anywhere,” Azzam said. “Most of