The Socceroos will donate to humanitarian efforts in Gaza as they prepare to depart Australia for their World Cup qualifier against Palestine in Kuwait on Tuesday. Australia started their journey towards the 2026 tournament with a 7-0 victory over Bangladesh in Melbourne on Thursday night. The team will fly out to Kuwait on Saturday, after their qualifier against Palestine was only last week moved to a new venue due to safety concerns with the ongoing conflict in the region. The fixture was originally scheduled to be played in Ramallah in the West Bank. The last time Palestine played at home was against Saudi Arabia in 2019. The pledge was confirmed by the Guardian on Friday and includes a matched donation from Football Australia. It will be provided to Oxfam through the PFA Footballers’ Trust. The five-figure sum will come out of the players’ match fees. After Thursday’s match, Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said the conflict was “horrific”, but noted that it was out of their control. “What we do have control over is our performance and playing against Palestine and going out and getting the job done for Australia,” Arnold said on Thursday. “We’re very sympathetic for everyone with what’s going on, but again, it’s a game of football and that brings a lot of joy to everybody.” Palestine are 96th in the latest Fifa men’s rankings and loom as the biggest challenge in the Socceroos’ initial qualification group which also includes Lebanon. Defender Harry Souttar said the side was looking to remain “professional”. “Obviously, we know kind of what’s going on for both sides. It’s horrendous,” Souttar told AAP. “I’m not going to stand here and give a political view but all I can say is we will be going into that focusing on purely the game and nothing else.” Palestine drew with Lebanon 0-0 in the UAE overnight. There was a minute’s silence for those killed in the conflict before kick-off. “We know that Palestine are going to be right up for it, we know that they’re going to be playing for a lot more than just football,” Souttar said. “But we’re there to get a result and get a job done. We’ll be professional and be going for the win.” Arnold said it has proven a stressful preparation due to the conflict and the squad has had to adjust to the venue change. The Socceroos will depart Australia on a charter plane direct to Kuwait on Saturday. The direct flight saves six hours of travel and Arnold is hoping it will assist the side’s preparations for Tuesday’s match. “They’ll have the day off here [on Friday] and catch up the family and friends and then the next morning we’ll be on the plane going across,” Arnold said. The approach is a change from the previous World Cup qualification campaign, where Australia struggled in the latter stages, especially in matches with quick turnarounds. “You learn things about human beings every day, the difference and what makes them tick” Arnold said. “If I stayed rigid right to what I probably started with, then some things will not work out.”