Published May 8, 2026
The 10th Palestinian International Marathon was held in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, and after a two-year hiatus due to Israel’s strip wars, a parallel race was held in Gaza.
The 42km race began at 6am local time (03:00 GMT) on Friday, with thousands of Palestinian and international runners gathering at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the traditional starting point.
Marathon coordinator Itidar Abdul Ghani said this year’s race carries a message of “homeland unity” and runners from both sides of Israel’s separatist regime will take part in simultaneous events. A separate 5km race was held in central Gaza, running north from the Wadi Gaza Bridge.
Organizers also held virtual marathons in several countries from April 17th to 21st, attracting more than 5,000 participants from 88 countries. The total number of runners exceeded 13,000, including 2,523 from the Gaza Strip and approximately 1,000 foreign participants from 75 countries.
The event was open to professional athletes, amateurs, and families with multiple categories including a full marathon, 21km half marathon, 10km race, and 5km family run. It is organized by the Palestinian High Council for Youth and Sports, the Palestinian Olympic Committee and the City of Bethlehem.
This year’s election campaign took place against the backdrop of continued Israeli attacks on Gaza despite a “ceasefire” and a surge in violence across the occupied West Bank since October 2023. The Palestinian Authority says at least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 11,750 injured and 22,000 arrested in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza. At least 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 172,000 injured in Gaza, according to local authorities.
Running through the streets of Bethlehem and through a route surrounded by checkpoints and separation walls, many of the participants carried Palestinian flags or wore keffiyehs, marking the marathon as both a sporting event and an act of peaceful resistance and solidarity with Gaza.
