Of that number, 339 were members of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), the institution explained in a statement.
According to the PFA, eight people linked to sports were killed in the coastal enclave in the first 15 days of August, including Islam Nafeth Matar, a player for the Al-Aqsa Club, and Moamen Aliwa, a member of the second team of the Ittihad Al-Shuja’iyya Club.
Recently, a study by the Palestinian Olympic Committee (POC) revealed that the Israeli army destroyed 265 sports facilities in Gaza, 184 of which were completely demolished and 81 damaged.
The figure includes 23 stadiums, 25 indoor multi-purpose sports halls, 58 club headquarters, and 12 centers affiliated with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
Among the damaged or destroyed buildings are three swimming pools, 15 basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts, as well as the only athletics track in Gaza, 49 gyms, 40 futsal courts, and 19 sports education centers, it emphasized.
In June of last year, both the POC and the PFA demanded Israel’s exclusion from the Paris 2024 Games for the crimes committed in the occupied territories.
In this regard, they sent a letter to the heads of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and FIFA, Gianni Infantino.
Allowing Israeli teams to participate in international football tournaments under these circumstances would undermine FIFA’s basic objectives and the principles of human rights and non-discrimination, the statement stated.
abo/arm/otf/ro
