Ramallah, Palestine, May 10, 2026: The 10th International Palestine Marathon was run in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday, May 8, with a parallel race held in Gaza.
The races, which were being held after a hiatus of two years, were organised by the Palestine Olympic Committee in conjunction with the Palestinian Higher Council for Youth and Sports and Bethlehem Municipality.
“One step to one step … Sport brings us together,” the Palestine Olympic Committee posted on social media, celebrating the event.
The 42.195-kilometre marathon began at 6am on Friday with thousands of Palestinian and international runners gathering at the traditional starting point, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. There was also a half-marathon and a 10-km race.
A separate 5-kilometre race was held in central Gaza.
Organisers also staged a virtual marathon in several countries between April 17 to 21, attracting participants from 88 countries. Overall, the number of runners exceeded 13,000, including 2,523 in Gaza and about 1,000 foreign participants from 75 countries.
