While the world raises banners of peace and human rights, the ugly face of the blatant violations against Palestinian sports in Gaza comes to light. Amid the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation since October 2023, sports, as a part of the Palestinian people’s identity, have not been spared from direct and deliberate targeting.
In this context, Mustafa Siyam, the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Union of Sports Media, revealed shocking figures reflecting the scale of direct Israeli targeting of athletes and sports facilities in the Gaza Strip.
According to Siyam, the number of athlete fatalities has risen to 708, including 95 children, with 273 sports facilities being completely or partially destroyed.
Siyam stated in media remarks that the coach of the Al-Rabat Handball Club, Ahmed Haroun, and the player from Deir al-Balah and Al-Jala’a Clubs, Anas Al-Dabji, were among the latest victims. Haroun was killed in artillery shelling targeting his home west of the Nusairat camp, while Al-Dabji perished in an aerial bombardment targeting his family’s home west of Deir al-Balah city.
Among the deceased were 369 football players, 105 members of the scouting movement, and 234 athletes belonging to various sports federations. Siyam also noted that these figures are not final, given the difficulty of accessing some affected areas and the presence of missing individuals under the rubble.
Siyam explained that these attacks do not only target lives but extend to the destruction of sports infrastructure, severely impacting the future of Palestinian sports and thousands of athletes in the sector.
Amid the ongoing Israeli genocide war, Palestinian athletes face existential challenges, as sports have become a target within the occupation’s strategy to destroy the social and cultural fabric of the Palestinian people.
The targeting of athletes and sports facilities in Gaza reflects the magnitude of the tragedy experienced by the Palestinian people amidst a genocide war that constitutes not only a war crime against civilians but also an attempt to erase Palestinian culture and identity.
