Swimming Classes Resume on Gaza's Beaches After Three Years of War

Volunteers built five sea pools by hand from sandbags and rubble on central Gaza's beaches, enabling swimming classes to resume after three years of war. Coach Amjed Tantesh, who founded Gaza's first swimming academy over two decades ago, mobilized the effort in summer 2026. Morning sessions are free for children orphaned by Israeli attacks; afternoons are open to all. The classes unfold amid a generational crisis: no formal schooling for three years, a UN-described "widespread mental health emergency," and famine-induced stunting that no volunteer pool can resolve.