Israeli Airstrike Kills Gaza Goalkeeper Days After Memorial Tournament Final
(MENAFN) A 20-year-old Palestinian footballer serving as goalkeeper and captain of Gaza Sports Club was killed in an Israeli airstrike, just five days after competing in a tournament final dedicated to athletes and sports officials killed since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Football Association.
Mahmoud Kamal Fares Abdel-Malek died Tuesday when an Israeli strike hit the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City.
His killing raised the number of Palestinian athletes and sports personnel killed since October 2023 to 1,017, the association reported.
Abdel-Malek's team had secured second place in the Gaza and Northern Gaza division of the Thousand Martyrs Cup, with the final held on November 5.
The competition represented a return to organized football following a lengthy suspension caused by Israel's war and the widespread destruction of sports facilities. Launched on September 4, the tournament attracted more than 200 teams from Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
The association had also reported the killing of another young Palestinian footballer just days earlier.
On Saturday, it announced that Mohammed Nidal Barbakh, a 15-year-old player with Al-Najma Sports Academy, had been shot dead by Israeli forces while playing football with friends in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza.
The latest airstrike occurred as Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10, 2025, continued to be reported.
Since October 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 74,600 Palestinians and injured nearly 176,000 others, with women and children accounting for most of the casualties. The offensive has also devastated the territory's infrastructure, destroying approximately 90% of it.
Mahmoud Kamal Fares Abdel-Malek died Tuesday when an Israeli strike hit the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City.
His killing raised the number of Palestinian athletes and sports personnel killed since October 2023 to 1,017, the association reported.
Abdel-Malek's team had secured second place in the Gaza and Northern Gaza division of the Thousand Martyrs Cup, with the final held on November 5.
The competition represented a return to organized football following a lengthy suspension caused by Israel's war and the widespread destruction of sports facilities. Launched on September 4, the tournament attracted more than 200 teams from Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
The association had also reported the killing of another young Palestinian footballer just days earlier.
On Saturday, it announced that Mohammed Nidal Barbakh, a 15-year-old player with Al-Najma Sports Academy, had been shot dead by Israeli forces while playing football with friends in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza.
The latest airstrike occurred as Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10, 2025, continued to be reported.
Since October 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 74,600 Palestinians and injured nearly 176,000 others, with women and children accounting for most of the casualties. The offensive has also devastated the territory's infrastructure, destroying approximately 90% of it.
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