Up in the sky over al-Zawayda village in central Gaza, there was a surprising scene of a man flying in a parachute overhead, descending towards the beach below. People in the area stopped their cars and parked on the side of the road to watch, while families and bystanders on the beach below pulled out their phones to record the unusual scene.
It was the first paragliding experience in Gaza, something that is totally foreign to the people in the besieged coastal enclave. Paragliding and other similar sports are forbidden in Gaza, prohibited by the Israeli authorities who control its borders, and everything that comes in and out of the strip.
Paragliding, ballooning, water bikes, or any other similar sport, would no doubt be amazing set against as the picturesque Mediterranean coastline that spans the 41 kilometers of Gaza’s territory. Yet most of these materials are not allowed into the strip, and most of the families wouldn’t be able to afford it — such sports are a luxury when more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.