GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The secretary-general of the Palestinian Sports Media Association (PSMA), Mustafa Siyam, said the Israeli occupation army has killed around 1,012 Palestinians from Gaza’s sports, youth and scouting sectors since the start of the genocide on October 7, 2023.
In a press statement on Friday, Siyam said more than 560 players, coaches and referees affiliated with the Palestinian Football Association had been killed during the war.
He added that Israel had destroyed official Palestinian sports institutions in the Gaza Strip, while football stadiums had been turned into shelters for thousands of families who lost their homes during the assault.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, backed by the US and Europe, has carried out a genocide in Gaza involving killing, starvation, destruction, forced displacement and detention, while ignoring international appeals and orders by the International Court of Justice to halt its assault.
The genocide has left more than 239,000 Palestinians martyred or wounded, most of them women and children, in addition to more than 11,000 missing.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, while famine has claimed many lives, most of them children, amid widespread destruction that has wiped out large parts of Gaza’s cities and towns.
A ceasefire between Palestinian factions and Israel took effect on October 10, 2025. It has been daily violated by the Israeli occupation forces since then.
