Paris, France - August 01, 2024

Storyline:
As the conflict between Palestine and Israel is going on, Palestinian-American swimmer Valerie Tarazi finds it deeply significant to represent Palestine at the Paris Olympics.

This is Palestine's eighth historical participation in the Olympics, with eight athletes competing in six events, including running, boxing, and swimming. It is also the largest participation in the history of Palestine.

The 24-year-old swimmer said the Palestinian delegation has received the overwhelming support and this encouragement has fueled their competitive spirit at the Paris Olympics.

Reflecting on the harsh realities faced by Palestinians, Tarazi spoke of personal tragedies, including the forced displacement of her grandfather in Gaza and the loss of friends during the recent Israeli attacks in enclave.

The ongoing Israeli attacks have killed at least 39,583 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health authorities in the besieged enclave said on Sunday.

Shotlist:
Paris, France - July 27, 2024:
1. Olympic rings on Eiffel Tower;
2. Logo showing "Paris 2024", Olympic rings;
3. Sign showing "Paris";
Paris, France - Recent:
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Tarazi, Palestinian Olympic swimmer:
"Personally, it's been a dream of mine to swim at the Olympics since I was very young, so that's an accomplishment in itself. But being able to go back to my roots, represent Palestine and then raise the flag, it's my honor. It's truly the most special feeling in the entire world."
Paris, France - Recent:
5. Various of Paris Olympics posters on buildings;
Paris, France - Recent:
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Tarazi, Palestinian Olympic swimmer:
"We've received an immense amount of support, honestly, throughout, even in the village, from fans, from people of Palestine, from my family. I've received more support than I ever thought. Yes, of course we're going to get some hate comments or people on the opposite side of the situation, but we've received so much love and support, and we've used that to fuel our inner fire for competition and everything else. So we're grateful for that."
Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Aug 1, 2024:
7. Various of rubble, destroyed buildings in Al-Shati refugee camp;
Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip - July 28, 2024:
8. Various of damaged school buildings after Israeli air strike;
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - July 22, 2024:
9. Smoke rising from damaged building;
10. Various of people fleeing; roads strewn with rubble;
Paris, France - Recent:
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Valerie Tarazi, Palestinian Olympic swimmer (starting with shots 9-10/partially overlaid with shots 12-13):
"We're in a situation that pretty much no other country in the world is in. Very few other countries can even relate to what Palestinians are going through. So being able to be here and being the very few Palestinians in the world that the media will listen to is the greatest honor we could ever have. I'm not here to be a politician, but I am here to spread my stories and my family had to leave Gaza. My grandfather had to leave. Things were really horrible. And on top of that, I mean, I've had so many family members die. I've had teammates die. I was with one of my white teammates in China, and a few days later, I got a phone call that he died in a bombing. So it's been horrible on all of us. I mean, it seems like every single day we have to go through getting phone calls of our friends or family who just like, yeah, they passed away. And I mean, even since we've been here, stuff like that has happened and it's all the more reason for us to raise the flag."
[SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
Paris, France - Recent:
12. Paris Olympics posters on buildings;
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip - Recent:
13. Various of people fleeing, destroyed buildings;
[SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
Paris, France - Recent:
14. Various of Paris 2024 logo, fences outside Stadium of France.

[Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]