Palestinian olympian highlights tragedy with shirt depicting bombed children at opening ceremony

Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal wore a shirt depicting children being bombed for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in a test for organisers who have strict rules on political statements.

Abu Sal was one of two flag-bearers for the Palestinian delegation during the rain-soaked river parade along the Seine on Friday.

His white shirt had embroidered images of warplanes dropping missiles over children playing sport.

"This shirt represents the current image in Palestine," Abu Sal told AFP on Saturday.

"The children who are martyred and die under the rubble, children whose parents are martyred and are left alone without food or water."

At least 39,258 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in retaliation for the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.

The October attack that began the war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestine Olympic Committee, told AFP they had checked with the local organising committee of the Paris Olympics to see if Abu Sal's shirt contravened Olympic regulations.

"It's a message of peace. It's a message to attract attention," he said. "This is anti-war, against killing. This abides with the Olympic Charter."

"We presented it, they approved it," he added.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) bans political statements on the field of play during sports events and during the opening and closing ceremonies, but athletes are free to express themselves in press conferences and on social media.

The Palestine Olympic Committee wrote to the IOC last week asking for a ban on Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympics, which has been rejected.

Rajoub said the Palestinian team intended to use the Paris Olympics to draw attention to the suffering of civilians in Gaza.

Abu Sal, 20, received a wildcard for the Olympics boxing.

He lives in the West Bank and is unable to train with his Cairo-based coach -- a Gazan who cannot travel to him due to Israeli restrictions.