Ihab Abu Gazr, coach of the Palestine national team, revealed that his mother, who is living in a tent in the Gaza Strip, gives him not only a spirit of persistence and determination but also some technical and tactical advice. Meanwhile, his 'Fedayeen' team has achieved an unprecedented feat by reaching the quarter-finals of the Arab Cup in Doha. Abu Gazr (45 years old) recounted his mother's insistence on speaking with him from Gaza exclusively about matters concerning the team: 'Don't talk to me about anything other than the team, she wants the focus to remain solely on the tournament.' He adds: 'My mother asks me about the players. Let's be realistic, we couldn't comprehend what was happening, but we possess genes of not surrendering.' He continues: 'If we surrender and yield to these matters, we as a people will perish and our cause will melt away.' His mother, H Mahmoud Abu Gazr (62 years old), is now displaced in the Al-Muasi camp in Gaza, near Khan Younis, living in a tent with her younger son, his wife, and their children. She says: 'His passion for football was since his childhood. He started playing in a small team in Rafah city, and then joined the Palestine national team and traveled to the West Bank to continue his career, as football was his life's dream.' She added: 'Ihab worked hard on himself despite all the difficult circumstances, until he became the coach of the Palestine national football team.' Abu Gazr points to the tragedy that has befallen his family since the war: 'My house was destroyed, and my relatives' houses were destroyed. The house we built brick by brick was destroyed, it was the house of a lifetime...'. He continues: 'My mother and brothers live in a tent and suffer a lot to follow our matches on TV. They think about how to get a generator and buy fuel to run it... and connect the TV.' But he concludes: 'These circumstances push us to fight on the field until our last breath, and that is what makes us always stand on our feet and gives us the motivation to bring joy to our people in Gaza.'
