Doha (AFP) – Friday's opening ceremony of the Asian Cup drew attention to the war in Gaza, with Palestine's captain taking the stage for the players' oath and Palestinian music at the beginning and end.
Ahead of the opening game between hosts Qatar and Lebanon at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, home captain Hassan Al-Haydos introduced his Palestinian counterpart Musab Al-Battat to deliver the players' oath, traditionally taken by the host nation's captain, on his behalf.
Battat wore the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh headscarf along with his team tracksuit. There was Palestinian music at the start of the colourful ceremony and a part of their anthem was played at the conclusion.
The Palestinian team will kick off their Asian Cup campaign against Iran on Sunday. The Gaza Strip has been devastated by the more than three-month-old Israel-Hamas war, while fears are rising of a wider regional war.
The conflict was triggered by the Palestinian militant group's surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7 which killed 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed, according to Israeli figures.
Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign in Gaza, killing more than 23,460 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.