NefeshBarYochai
2025-01-13 01:03:22 UTC
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Permalink708 athletes, including 95 children, have been killed in the Gaza
Strip by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, Anadolu Agency reports.
The head of the PSMA, Mustafa Siyam, told Anadolu that the deaths of
handball coach Ahmad Haroun from the Rabat Handball Club and Anas
al-Debji, who played for the Deir al-Balah and Al-Jalaa clubs, raised
the number of athletes killed to 708.
He noted that Haroun was killed in an artillery strike targeting his
home Friday in the west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza,
while al-Debji was killed in an air strike that hit his familys home
Wednesday in the west of Deir al-Balah .
Siyam said those killed include 369 football players, 105 members of
scouting organizations and 234 athletes from various sports
federations.
He revealed that Israel destroyed 273 sports facilities, including
stadiums, gyms and club facilities, either partially or completely.
These attacks will significantly impact the future of Palestinian
sports in the Gaza Strip and have devastating effects on thousands of
athletes, said Siyam, adding that the figures reported are not final
due to ongoing air strikes, the presence of missing persons under the
rubble and limited access to areas.
Siyam accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian sports as
part of the social and cultural fabric of Gaza, describing the attacks
as an existential challenge for the sports.
He demanded that the international community and global sports
federations take immediate action to halt Israels violations and
protect Palestinian athletes and sports facilities.
The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed
more than 46,500 victims, most of them women and children, since Oct.
7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an
immediate ceasefire.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November
for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war
crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of
Justice for its war on the enclave.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250112-palestinian-sports-media-association-says-708-athletes-killed-in-gaza-by-israel/