IOF killed 85 Palestinian athletes since Oct. 7: Football Association

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Dec 2023 03:31

The Palestinian Football Association says that during their ongoing aggression, Israeli occupation forces targeted Palestinian sports facilities and athletes.

Fire and smoke erupt after Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 14, 2023. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS and MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) confirmed that Israeli occupation forces killed 85 Palestinian athletes, including 55 football players and 30 individuals engaged in various other sports disciplines, in the period spanning from October 7th to December 6th.

In a comprehensive report unveiled on Thursday, the PFA mentioned that during their ongoing aggression, Israeli occupation forces targeted Palestinian sports facilities and athletes, including football players, as well as club presidents, administrators, referees, and other sports figures.

The report revealed that among the football players killed at the hands of Israeli occupation forces, 18 were children and 37 were youths, including two in the occupied West Bank. Additionally, four players sustained injuries in the Gaza Strip.

According to the PFA's report, Israeli airstrikes destroyed nine sports facilities, with four located in the occupied West Bank and five in Gaza.

In addition, the report mentioned that the Israeli occupation forces arrested three Palestinian athletes in the West Bank, noting that in Gaza, the number of detained athletes remains indeterminate due to the prevailing situation of missing Gazans in the Strip.

This comes as the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza stated that the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip has risen to 18,787 and more than 50,897 are now injured.