LEADIN:

Recent protests in Gaza have seen dozens killed and many thousands more injured.

As a consequence, the number of people who are left permanently disabled has risen.

But a group of amputees in Gaza have formed their own football team to show people what they are capable of.

STORYLINE:

Nothing will stop these men from playing the sport they love.

Despite losing a limb, they meet to train and play football with each other in Deir El Balah, Gaza Strip.

While some people may question their ability, these players say they have even more skills than able-bodied footballers.

"Sports for the disabled needs strong physical power to rely on putting your weight on crutches and hands and one leg," says player Hasan Abu Kraiem, who says he lost his leg from Israeli fire in 2006.

"The able-bodied player focuses on the football, but we focus on keeping our balance, avoiding falling and avoiding harming our colleagues. So, it requires mental and physical strength."

Gaza is known for its long years of conflicts and instability.

Many of these men have lost limbs in previous clashes with Israeli troops.

But recent events have seen hundreds of people taken to hospital after being hit by Israeli fire.

Since March 30, weekly protests have been organised along the Gaza-Israel border.

More than 125 people have been killed, and many thousands more injured.

Fad Abu Ghalyoun, Palestine Amputee Association chairman, believes that those who have lost a limb during a protest deserve special care.

"This group that lost their body part and sacrificed (themselves) must be looked after (by the community)," he says.

"We should be faithful to them and support them psychologically, socially and via sport."

He also says that by playing football they are sending a message of strength and resistance to the Israelis.

The squad is made of 13 players ranging in age between 16 to 42 years, all of differing experience and abilities.

They are the first team of amputee football players formed in Gaza, and the second such squad in the Arab world after Lebanon, according to the players.

"We hope there will be a league for this game, we hope for a national team representing Palestine, to compete locally, in the Arab world and internationally. This sport is spreading and football is the most popular in the world. The amputee football is new here, but not new to the world," says player Wahid Rapah, who says he was injured by Israeli soldiers in 2006.

Over 50 Palestinians lost a limb during the most recent protest campaign along Gaza's fence separating it from Israel, according to the Gazan Ministry of Health.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Deir El Balah, Gaza Strip – 8 July 2018

1. Various of amputee football team warming up

2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hasan Abu Kraiem 36, football player who lost his leg by Israeli army fire in 2006:

"Sports for the disabled needs strong physical power to rely on putting your weight on crutches and hands and one leg. The able-bodied player focuses on the football, but we focus on keeping our balance, avoiding falling and avoiding harming our colleagues. So, it requires mental and physical strength."

3. Various of team training

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fad Abu Ghalyoun, Palestine Amputee Association chairman:

"This group that lost their body parts and sacrificed (themselves) must be looked after (by the community). We should be faithful to them and support them psychologically, socially and via sport. The other message is to the (Israeli) occupation: don't annoy us, don't sever our leg. We will fight with football, with crutches, and prove to the world that we can live, not only die."

5. Various of team training

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Abu Shareif, team trainer:

"Our team is different than the well (players). Today, all our players here are willing to represent Palestine locally and internationally."

7. Team talking while taking a break from training

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Wahid Rapah 42, football player injured by Israeli soldiers in 2006:

"We hope there will be a league for this game, we hope for a national team representing Palestine, to compete locally, in the Arab world and internationally. This sport is spreading and football is the most popular in the world. The amputee football is new here, but not new to the world. There is a team in Lebanon and we are nearly the second (Arab) team."

9. Wide of training

LEADIN:

Landmine survivors in Lebanon have turned disability into ability by taking part in football matches in Beirut.

The Lebanon Landmine Survivors Football Team was formed in 2005 with the aim of reintegrating landmine survivors into society.

STORYLINE:

Lebanese landmine survivors, with long red football socks pulled over their prosthetic legs, gather in a field near Beirut's southern suburbs.

The Lebanon Landmine Survivors Football Team have been playing since 2005 and are determined to show they can still be sportsmen, despite their injuries.

Defender Hussein Ghandour, who lost an arm and a leg after picking up unexploded cluster munition as a seven-year-old child, says that he wants to show the world that mine survivors are not a burden on society.

"We want to show that we have turned our disability into ability", he says. "Also we want to show all the countries around us that here in Lebanon, a small country, we can be effective and strong. And to the Israeli enemy, who planted these mines, we want to show that a mine or bomb can not stop us."

The Lebanon Landmine Survivors Football Team was formed by the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH), with the aim of helping landmine survivors reintegrate into society.

Each of the team's 22 members have lost one or more limbs to a blast from a landmine or explosive remnant of war, yet they usually compete against football teams with non-disabled players.

They have won friendly games against UN units, embassy teams, local football clubs, teams from NGOs, and many more, according to LWAH.

"After the process of rehabilitation they went through, we wanted to exhibit their abilities and achievements in sports, specifically in football", explains Chief Executive Officer at LWAH, Reem Makki.

"The aim of the match today is to shed light on the dangers of landmines, because today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action", she adds.

Lebanese territories have witnessed high-levels of mine contamination as a result of the country's civil war, the Israeli occupation until 2000 and the summer conflict with Israel in 2006, according to the Britain-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

It estimated in a report that the leftover landmines in Lebanon killed 933 people and injured more than 2,780 between 1975 and 2012.

The "Lebanese Mine Action Center," which operates under the Lebanese Army, said that Israel left about 550,000 mines planted in southern Lebanon when it withdrew from the country in May 2000.

Beirut, Lebanon - 4 April 2017

1. Various of landmine survivors warming up for a football game

2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hussein Ghandour, mine survivor and defender in the Lebanon Landmine Survivors Football Team:

"My aim in this game today is to show all the world that we (mine survivors) are not a burden on society as handicapped people. At the same time, we want to show that we have turned our disability into ability. Also we want to show all the countries around us that here in Lebanon, a small country, we can be effective and strong. And to the Israeli enemy, who planted these mines, we want to show that a mine or bomb can not stop us."

3. Wide of players clapping

4. Various of landmine survivors playing football

5. Mid of Reem Makki, Chief Executive Officer at the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH), clapping in the crowd, surrounded by children

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Reem Makki, Chief Executive Officer at the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH)

"The Lebanon Landmine Survivors Football Team, which is affiliated with the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH), is a team that was formed in 2005. Its true aim is to help reintegrate landmine survivors and exhibit their abilities. After the process of rehabilitation they went through, we wanted to exhibit their abilities and achievements in sports, specifically in football. They are twenty two team members, all of whom have prosthetic limbs as a result of landmines, and they play several games per year with all kinds of football clubs and local teams. The aim of the match today is to shed light on the dangers of landmines, because today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action."

7. Player scoring goal