"The day after that victory, the country Stewart had been representing killed a different cyclist, Ahmed al-Dali, in a Gaza bombing. In fact, Israel ended the life of the 33-year-old Palestinian in two stages. The first was in 2014, when one of the country's bombs left him so gravely wounded he was presumed dead and taken to the morgue, where he later woke up. His leg had to be amputated."
"He had been one of the members of the Gaza Sunbirds cycling team. Like al-Dali, each of his teammates, who now number 16, have a single leg. Israel left them mutilated in previous offensives in Gaza, via bombings or sniper fire. At the dawn of the current invasion, Israeli planes destroyed the warehouse containing most of the team's bicycles in a November 2023 attack."
"The 26-year-old Palestinian, who now forms part of country's diaspora, is the director and co-founder of the Sunbirds, which was founded in 2020. All of his athletes, he emphasizes via video call, have a history of struggle behind them. Two of them, including co-founder Alaa al-Dali cousin of the deceased al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour were evacuated in April 2024 to Egypt and later, to Belgium."
Jake Stewart won the final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk on May 18 riding for Israel-Premier Tech. The next day an Israeli bombing killed Ahmed al-Dali, a 33-year-old Palestinian cyclist who had been grievously wounded in 2014, awakened in a morgue, and had his leg amputated. Al-Dali was a member of the Gaza Sunbirds, a team whose 16 remaining cyclists each have a single leg after previous Israeli offensives. Israeli planes destroyed the warehouse holding most of the team's bicycles in November 2023 and Gaza's damaged roads rendered other bikes unusable. Two Sunbirds were evacuated in April 2024 and now race with Team Palestine internationally.
Read at english.elpais.com
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