The ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza has claimed the lives of 708 Palestinian athletes, including 95 children, and destroyed 273 sports facilities, leaving a deep and lasting impact on the Palestinian sports community.
The Israeli genocide against Gaza has resulted in the killing of 708 Palestinian athletes, including 95 innocent children, as conveyed by Mustafa Sayam, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Union for Sports Media, Anadolu news agency reported.
Among the latest victims were Ahmed Haroun, coach of Al-Ribat Palestinian Handball Club, killed by Israeli artillery in the Nuseirat refugee camp, and Anas Al-Dabaji, a young football player, who died in an airstrike that hit his family’s home in Gaza.
The total number of sports-related deaths has now reached 708, including 369 football players, 105 scouting members, and 234 athletes from other sports disciplines.
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Destruction of Sports Facilities
The Israeli military has also destroyed 273 sports facilities in Gaza, leaving thousands of Palestinian athletes with no place to train.
These losses go beyond material damage and deeply affect the Palestinian sporting community. Sayam emphasized that the reported numbers are likely underestimated due to the many missing people still buried under rubble and areas that remain inaccessible because of ongoing bombings and the blockade.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s campaign has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, mostly women and children. Gaza is facing widespread destruction, with tens of thousands left without homes, food, or basic services.
Israel’s actions continue despite arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for their roles in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 46,565 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,660 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
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Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(AA, PC, AJA)
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