DaysofPal – The Palestinian Football Association has revealed that 785 Palestinian athletes, coaches, and sports administrators have been killed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Suzanne Shalabi, vice president of the association, told Anadolu Agency that “the association has documented the deaths of 785 players, staff, and administrators from various sports during the Israeli war of extermination, the vast majority of them in the Gaza Strip, including 23 in the West Bank.”
Among the victims, she noted, were 437 football players, including 15 from the West Bank.
Shalabi explained that the numbers are based on player registration records and reports from the federation’s Gaza branch, but the actual toll may be higher. “The figures announced are not final because people are missing under the rubble, and it is difficult to reach all the affected areas due to Israeli bombing and the blockade imposed on the Strip,” she said.
The toll on Palestinian sports infrastructure has also been devastating. “The Israeli aggression has led to the complete or partial destruction of 288 sports facilities, including 21 in the occupied West Bank, including stadiums, sports halls, and club facilities,” Shalabi reported.
She called for immediate action to “end Israel’s deliberate targeting of Palestinian sports and provide protection for athletes and facilities in the West Bank and Gaza.”
About 190,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured in Israel’s genocide in Gaza since the war began, and more than 11,000 are still unaccounted for, according to Palestinian sources.
Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced. A man-made famine has already claimed the lives of dozens of children.
In tandem with the Gaza assault, Israeli forces and settlers have intensified their attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to Palestinian data, at least 986 Palestinians have been killed and around 7,000 wounded in the West Bank since October.
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