Palestinian paralympian who was shot by sniper has lost 17 family members since war in Gaza began
Fadi Deeb has lost 17 family members since the war on Palestine began.
A Palestinian Paralympian who has lost 17 family members during the onslaught in Gaza will be competing at the Paris Games this week.
Shot-put star Fadi Deeb was paralysed back in 2001 when he was shot in the spine by an Israeli sniper during the second Palestinian Intifada.
Ahead of the beginning of the Paralympics this week, Deeb spoke to 'Democracy Now!' about his pride at representing his people on a global stage.
"I want to raise my country flag here in Paris and to show the people we are still here.
"We're still alive—we have hopes, we have dreams, we have goals."
While Deeb will be looking to bring home a medal to his people, his personal plight shows that there are far bigger things at stake than just a medal.
"It's a very hard situation to... balance between my sport as an international player and one who is going to compete in the Paralympic Games, and... my family, all of my sisters, my brothers still in Gaza Strip," he explained.
"There is no safe place in Gaza... everyone is like a target for the killing machine," Deeb continued. "So, what is happening now... it's a genocide. It's not a war... I lost my brother on December 7, 2023 and two of my nephews... And for whole of my family members, I lost like more than, like, 17 persons. So, the situation is very hard."
Since the October 7th 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, over 40,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's retaliation, many of whom being women and children.
But despite the ongoing strife in his homeland, Deeb is keen to bring some joy to his fellow Palestinians.
"To be a player and to compete in this competition for the Paris 2024... gives me, like, too much responsibility to talk about my country, to show the people about Palestine," he said. "It's not just war. It's not just blood. There is life. There is hopes. There is goals. There is dreams."
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