"They used to call me the flying winger… today all I want is to walk again."
With these words, Ibrahim Al-Arja (27) describes the shift that changed his life during the war — from a football player who lived his daily routine on the pitch, to a father now trying simply to regain the ability to stand on his feet again.
Ibrahim, a father of two — Kenan and Sham — lived a simple life between his family and football. The game was never just a hobby for him, but a lifelong project he pursued for years, a dream he hoped to fulfill by reaching the Palestinian national team, while imagining his children growing up watching him play.
He began his journey with the youth team of Khadamat Rafah, then moved to Al-Qadsia Rafah, helping them rise to the Premier League. He later returned to Khadamat Rafah and contributed to winning the 2022–2023 league title, and was selected more than once as one of the best players in his position. Among his teammates, he was known as "the flying winger" for his speed and presence on the field.
But the war changed everything.
During the famine, Ibrahim went with his nephew to an aid distribution point in Al-Tina, searching for flour for his family and elderly parents. He knew the road was dangerous, but he had no other choice.
There, gunfire suddenly erupted.
He was shot in both legs and fell to the ground before his nephew and others managed to carry him to the hospital, while all he could think about was survival.
"After the operation, I had one question: will I be able to walk again?"
For Ibrahim, who had spent his entire life running on football fields, the injury was a breaking point. It was not only the loss of the game, but the loss of the rhythm of his entire life — from daily training to the details of the pitch that had shaped his identity.
Today, Ibrahim misses everything he once knew: the stadiums, his fellow players — some of whom were lost during the war — and the sound of kickoff that once opened every match with possibility.
His children now watch clips of his matches on a phone, getting to know their father through moments that no longer exist in reality.
And he still holds on to one idea: to stand on his feet again.
The man who once flew down the right wing is now trying to take his first steps from the ground.
