By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Dozens of Palestinian pigeon breeders in the blockaded Gaza Strip staged a 32-kilometer race Thursday between their prize birds.  

The first race of its kind, 45 breeders took part in the event, which was organized by the Palestinian Union for Pigeon Sports.

“Pigeon breeding as a hobby is still relatively new here, due mainly to the scarcity of pigeons in the Gaza Strip,” union head Ghassan Kullab told Anadolu Agency.

“We had to import many of the pigeons from Egypt, the Netherlands and Belgium,” he said.

Established only one month ago, the union includes a number of doctors and engineers with an interest in amateur pigeon breeding.

In Thursday’s race, almost 50 pigeons flew south from Gaza City’s Palestine Stadium to the city of Rafah on the strip’s border with Egypt -- a distance of 32 kilometers, which most birds took about 30 minutes to complete, according to organizers.

Hisham al-Jazzar, a local breeder whose pigeon completed the race in 26 minutes, was ultimately declared winner of the event.

According to Kullab, flying pigeons can hit speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, depending on the speed and direction of the wind.