The beach is the only place children have left to play in Gaza | Focus

Three years of war have destroyed almost every playground in Gaza. For Hala, an orphaned child, a swimming club on the beach offers a rare chance to escape the realities of war. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/user/theguardian?sub_confirmation=1 The club was set up by Amjed Tantesh, who once hoped to train swimmers for Palestine’s Olympic team. Now, in a pool built from the rubble, he’s offering free lessons to children affected by war. The Guardian follows Hala and her brother Amir as they attend their first lesson, confront their fear of the sea and find a place where they can simply be children again Read more here ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/25/swimming-classes-resume-gaza-after-three-years-war?CMP=yt_gu Amjed Tantesh, who features in this film, has also worked as a journalist for the Guardian and other outlets. His niece, Seham Tantesh, reports for the Guardian from Gaza Chapters: 00:00 - The beach is the only place children have left to play 01:04 - Hala & Amir 03:02 - Swimming Lessons 04:14 - The Swimming Coach 05:45 - Getting ready 06:40 - Carnival day The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► http://theguardian.com/first-edition Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/theguardian.com Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardian The Guardian on YouTube: Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianAustralia Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball Football Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport It's Complicated ► https://www.youtube.com/@ItsComplicated Guardian Live ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianLive #gaza #palestine #israel