In Gaza, some Palestinian children find respite and catharsis in breakdancing

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — As the music comes on in a Gaza refugee camp, a group of boys and girls start showing off their breakdancing moves, kicking and spinning with intense focus on their fast footwork. Two young girls grin at each other as they nailed a tricky part of the routine.

It’s a rare moment of respite and catharsis amid the harsh realities of life in the Gaza Strip. The children, some wearing sliders on their feet, dance next to mangled metal rods jutting out from a mound of rubble and shattered concrete. The school that trains them is in the Nuseirat refugee camp, a crowded, built-up camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

“I come to this center because I discovered that I have a talent for breakdancing, and I also come here to release the negative energy inside me and to enjoy,” said Habiba Abu Khater, one of the children from around five to 14 years old who train at the school. She said she's been attending for four years and is happy about her progress after starting from scratch.

Instructor Fayez Saraj said the school, established in the camp in 2004, helps children build their self confidence and improve their mental health through break dance, gymnastics, and contemporary dance.

The movements "help the child with psychological release, especially from the difficult situations we experienced during the years of war," he said. “We have a significant role in … moving them from an atmosphere of depression and frustration to one of joy.”

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

While the heaviest fighting has mostly subsided since a fragile ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce. Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Palestinians in Gaza are still contending with myriad daily struggles.

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Associated Press writer Mariam Fam in Winter Park, Florida, contributed to this report.