Israel kills Palestinian footballer days after memorial tournament

Gaza City: Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Kamal Fares Abdel-Malek, 20, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Tuesday, five days after playing in the final of a tournament commemorating more than 1,000 Palestinian athletes and sports officials killed since October 2023.

Abdel-Malek, captain and goalkeeper of Gaza Sports Club, was killed in an attack on the southern Sabra neighbourhood. His club mourned him as a club legend. The team finished runners-up in the Gaza and northern Gaza division of the Thousand Martyrs Cup.

The competition brought together more than 200 clubs, with matches held across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. According to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), Abdel-Malek was the 1,017th person from the sporting community killed in Gaza.

His death came days after 15-year-old Mohammad Nidal Barbak was shot dead by Israeli forces while playing football with friends in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.

The killings have intensified scrutiny of FIFA's response to the toll on Palestinian sport. The PFA has called for the Israeli Football Association to be expelled from international football, citing the deaths of athletes and the destruction of Gaza's sporting facilities. It renewed that demand after a FIFA disciplinary report found the Israeli body had failed to act meaningfully against racist conduct at Beitar Jerusalem.

Stadiums, clubs, sports halls and academies across Gaza have been devastated. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says at least 74,645 Palestinians have been killed and 175,978 injured since October 7, 2023.


Based on Maktoob Media report.