• Participants in the Zayed Marathon organised by the UAE'S Gallant Knight 3 operation in Faza. Photos by Eyad Baba / AFP
    Participants in the Zayed Marathon organised by the UAE'S Gallant Knight 3 operation in Faza. Photos by Eyad Baba / AFP
  • Men and children move past damaged buildings during a sports Marathon-run organised by the UAE-based foundation "al-Faris al-Shahm", at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 27, 2026. Violence has persisted in Gaza despite a ceasefire in October 2025, with both Israel and Hamas regularly accusing each other of violations. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)
    Men and children move past damaged buildings during a sports Marathon-run organised by the UAE-based foundation "al-Faris al-Shahm", at the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on March 27, 2026. Violence has persisted in Gaza despite a ceasefire in October 2025, with both Israel and Hamas regularly accusing each other of violations. (Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP)
  • Runners stretch before the event.
    Runners stretch before the event.
  • The race gets underway.
    The race gets underway.
  • Boys sitting on rubble watch the event.
    Boys sitting on rubble watch the event.
  • Children watch the race which was organised by the UAE.
    Children watch the race which was organised by the UAE.

News

UAE

Zayed Marathon held in Gaza as part of UAE's Operation Gallant Knight 3

Contestants run four kilometres

The National

March 28, 2026

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A four-kilometre run was held in Gaza on Saturday as part of the UAE's Operation Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian programme.

The event was part of a series of activities to support young people and athletes, after major sports programmes were halted for more than two years due to conflict in Gaza, state news agency Wam reported on Saturday.

The Zayed Marathon started from the entrance of Al Bureij Camp and ended in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza.

Operation Gallant Knight 3 was launched in response to the outbreak of war in October 2023.

The UAE has been at the forefront of aid delivery efforts for Gaza, setting up a floating hospital in Egypt and a field hospital in the enclave, while evacuating thousands of cancer patients and Palestinians wounded in the war, to provide care for them in the Emirates.

Updated: March 29, 2026, 10:43 AM