Palestinian footballer Imad Abu Tima, 21, was killed along with nine members of his family in an Israeli air strike on eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Abu Tima, a player for Ittihad Khan Younis club and a representative of Palestine’s under-20 national team in 2021, was among over 400 Palestinian athletes who have lost their lives in Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, according to the Palestine National Olympic Committee.
The Palestine Football Association had earlier reported that 245 football players had been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including 69 children and 176 young men.
This tragic incident comes as Fifa, the governing body of international football, continues to delay its decision on banning Israel from competing in global competitions. Fifa recently stated that its Disciplinary Committee would investigate alleged offenses of discrimination raised by the Palestine Football Association and probe the participation of Israeli football teams in competitions allegedly based on Palestinian territories.
The destruction of sports facilities in Gaza has been extensive, with many stadiums and venues targeted. Witnesses have also claimed that Israeli forces used a football stadium in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of northern Gaza as a temporary detention and interrogation site.
Since the conflict escalated on October 7, 2023, over 42,300 Palestinians have been killed and more than 99,000 wounded, as reported by the Palestinian health ministry. The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen, with large parts of the strip’s infrastructure destroyed and a ground offensive forcing mass displacement of civilians.