As Israelis play Minnesota Timberwolves, players and coaches hope for war to end

Seated in the visitor's locker room, players for an Israeli basketball team were preparing before their preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they admitted it was hard to focus 10 days after a deadly attack by Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis, plunging the region into conflict.

"You think all the time about your family, your friends," said Ori Hai, 24, who plays for Maccabi Ra'anana. "You can't really focus about basketball. That doesn't matter right now."

Ra'anana concluded its three-game tour in the U.S. by playing the Timberwolves, playing the games while Israel is at war with Hamas, the militant group governing the Gaza Strip. Players and coaches decided they would continue the games after learning of the war while abroad. One Ra'anana player returned home after the war began.

Hai and his teammates were stretching in the locker room while wearing shirts with photos of people kidnapped by Hamas, with the caption "bring them home now," written underneath. Hai's shirt was of a toddler boy who was taken.

Earlier Tuesday, a blast went off at a hospital in Gaza, killing more than 500 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. At least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's retaliatory airstrikes since the war began, the ministry reported Tuesday.

Both Hamas and Israel have denied responsibility and pointed at the other side for the explosion at the hospital.

The pregame ceremony included a moment of silence in support of those killed "in Israel," and a performance of the Israeli national anthem. A handful of people in the stands held up Israeli flags and signs supporting the country.

"It's hard to explain the sadness to lose someone that close and to know that he left behind four young kids," Orland said

The coach discussed the importance of continuing the games and finishing the series before returning as a way to give people hope back home.

"The desperation is so deep. … There's a lot of kids, young people that need hope," Orland said. "For us, playing over here, maybe it's one step towards showing that Israel is a strong country," the coach said.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said he thinks it showed "great courage" for Maccabi Ra'anana to continue.

"I think that's very important for them, and for the strength and the psyche of their country," Finch said.

Before the game, Hai said it was hard to prepare mentally, adding that his family knows someone killed in the Hamas attack. Growing up in Israel, fighting has happened "all the time" and he's seen rocket attacks before. But he said this war is on a different level. Hai said he also feels sad for the innocent Palestinians who have been killed.