DOHA: Fans of Iran and Palestine paused for a moment’s silence for Palestinian victims of the war in Gaza on Sunday as the two teams clashed in the Asian Cup in Doha.
The tournament in Qatar is taking place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which has overshadowed the build up to Palestine’s first game in the tournament. Some Palestinian players have lost loved ones in the conflict. During the singing of the Palestinian anthem at the 45,000-capacity Education City Stadium in Doha, supporters draped in traditional Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves clasped shoulders, with the moment’s silence following after.
The war began when Iran-backed Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Vowing to crush Hamas, Israel launched a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,968 people in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry. As the match got underway supporters of Iran also chanted, “Death to Israel” in Arabic.
Iran supports Hamas financially and militarily, and has placed anti-Israel rhetoric at the heart of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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