ISTANBUL — Since Israel’s assault on Gaza began on Oct 7, 2023, more than 500 athletes, referees, and sports officials have been killed, including nearly 300 football players, many of whom were children and members of sports academies.
Local health authorities report the total death toll has reached nearly 42,000, with most of the victims being women and children, while over 97,100 others have been injured.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Israeli offensive has severely impacted Palestinian sports, claiming the lives of numerous coaches, referees, and athletes, including children.
One of the first prominent casualties was Hani Al-Masdar, coach of the Palestine Olympic Football Team, who was killed during Israeli airstrikes in January. In April, three young footballers from Al-Wahda Academy in Gaza were killed in attacks on Deir al-Balah.
In June, three Al-Ahli Gaza footballers – Ahmad Abu al-Atta, Anas Iqilan, and Muhammad Barakat -were killed. Barakat, the team’s captain, was fondly known as “The Legend of Khan Younis” for his longtime dedication to the Khan Younis Youth Club.
Palestine’s first Olympic runner, Majed Abu Maraheel, passed away in July due to kidney failure, a result of power cuts caused by the ongoing bombings. Hani Mesmeh, a FIFA international referee from Palestine, was also killed during the June airstrikes.
On Nov 14, 2023, Palestinian volleyball players Hassan Zuaiter and Ibrahim Qassi’a were killed in a bombing at the Jabaliya refugee camp.
The Israeli offensive has decimated nearly 90% of sports infrastructure in Gaza, with stadiums, training facilities, and gymnasiums either bombed, burned, or bulldozed. In some cases, football fields have been repurposed as makeshift cemeteries.
In January 2024, footage surfaced showing Israeli forces using Yarmouk Stadium as a temporary detention centre for Palestinian prisoners.
In April, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) filed a petition with FIFA, calling for Israel’s suspension and sanctions over violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Gaza.
By September, an independent legal assessment supported the PFA’s request, recommending punitive measures against the Israel Football Association.
Last week, FIFA’s Council agreed to the PFA’s petition and initiated an investigation into Israel’s alleged human rights violations.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the escalating humanitarian and political crises in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“The nightmare in Gaza is now entering an atrocious, abominable second year. This has been a year of crises. Humanitarian crisis. Political crisis. Diplomatic crisis. And a moral crisis,” Guterres said at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.
The Gaza Strip “has become ground zero to a level of human suffering that is hard to fathom,” he added.
Guterres stressed the indispensable role of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, while warning about the potential consequences of an Israeli draft legislation to restrict the agency’s operations.
The UN chief announced that he has sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to express profound concern about draft legislation that could prevent UNRWA from continuing its essential work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The measure would suffocate efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza, and indeed, the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory. It would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster,” he said.
Last week, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) advanced a bill to revoke the immunity and privileges afforded to UNRWA, in a move seen by Palestinians and the UN as part of an Israeli campaign to dismantle the UN agency and resolve the refugee issue.
On Lebanon, Guterres warned that the entire region could be engulfed in Israel’s offensive.
“We are on the verge of an all-out war in Lebanon — with already devastating consequences,” he said, citing large-scale Israeli strikes that have killed more than 2,000 victims in Lebanon, and displaced over 1 million. – October 9, 2024