RAMALLAH - The Gaza Strip's stadiums and gyms, once meant to foster Palestinian athletes' growth, have tragically transformed into burial grounds for countless athletes and sports leaders lost in the unyielding assaults from the Israeli military.
According to WAFA, the Palestinian sports community has suffered a loss of 183 officials and staff due to over 140 days of attacks, affecting sectors such as soccer, volleyball, and technical roles.
Citing the Palestinian Football Association recently, WAFA reported that 85 footballers from local Palestinian clubs were killed in Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank between Oct 7 and Dec 6.
According to the report, the football players killed included 18 children and 37 teenagers.
Palestinian karate champion Nagham Abu Samra, 26, among the hopeful athletes predicted to have a bright future in karate, was also a victim of Israeli attack, according to WAFA.
Nagham passed away at Deir Al-Balah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after being in a coma for almost a month due to a missile attack in Gaza on Dec 17. Paralympic athletes of various ages were also not spared, including the Palestinian dwarf soccer player, Ahmed Awad Salman; siblings Mahmoud and Muhammad Abu Dan who played at the Al-Hilal Gaza Club Academy; and Atef Dabour, 15, from the same club.
Also martyred in the Israeli attacks were football academy player in Khan Younis Muhammad Qanan; siblings at the Score Academy, Abdullah and Muhammad Abu Sanima; Markaz Football Club player in Tulkarem, Osama Abu Nahar; and Samba Football Academy player, Abdul Qadir Al-Attar, reported WAFA.
Recent media reports also stated that a Palestinian international football referee, Mohamed Khattab, was martyred in an Israeli military attack. Khattab, a referee recognised by the Asian and International Football Confederation, was killed along with his family after the Zionist regime bombed their home in Deir al-Balah.
Several stadiums and sports facilities in Gaza and the West Bank had to be turned into burial grounds for the fallen athletes due to the lack of other places for burial. In addition to stadiums, the Israeli military also targeted 37 other sports development centres - 17 of which were completely destroyed - and the rest were turned into detention and torture centres.
The ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7 have killed 29,954 Palestinian citizens and injured more than 70,000 others thus far, besides causing massive destruction and shortages of necessities. -- BERNAMA