Palestinians to play Australia in Kuwait at 2026 World Cup qualifier

Palestine Football Association's president, Jibril Rajoub arrives for the 33rd AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain on Feb. 1. [REUTERS]

Football Australia says its Socceroos will play Palestine in a second-round 2026 World Cup qualifier at the neutral venue of Kuwait on Nov. 21.

"As a result of current circumstances in the region, the Asian Football Confederation formally requested that this designated home fixture for Palestine be held at a neutral venue," Football Australia said in a statement.

Australian football administrators said the match would be played at Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait, five days after the Socceroos open the second round of Asian qualifying against Bangladesh in Melbourne.

Hamas militants killed 1,400 people during an Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, sparking the ongoing war. Some 240 people Hamas abducted during the attack remain in Gaza, and more than 250,000 Israelis have evacuated homes near the borders of Gaza and Lebanon amid continuous rockets fired into Israel.

A month of relentless bombardment in Gaza has killed more than 10,300 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run territory. More than 2,300 are believed buried from strikes that reduced entire city blocks to rubble.

AP