Al-Obeid was known as the ‘Pele of Palestinian football’ and became one of its brightest stars.
Palestinian national football team player Suleiman al-Obeid has been killed in an Israeli attack on aid seekers in Gaza.
Al-Obeid, 41, was killed on Wednesday when Israeli forces attacked people waiting near an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza, the Palestinian Football Association said.
He was nicknamed the “Pele of Palestinian football” – after the Brazilian professional footballer widely regarded as one of the best football players of all time.
During his long career, the Gaza player scored more than 100 goals, making him one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football.
“Former national team player and star of the Khadamat al-Shati team, Suleiman Al-Obeid, was martyred after the [Israeli] occupation forces targeted those waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday,” the Palestinian Football Association said in a statement.
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With al-Obeid’s death, the number of athletes and their family members killed in the Strip since the start of Israel’s war has risen to 662.
The number of football-related deaths in Gaza now stands at 321, including players, coaches, administrators, referees and club board members.
The former football star began his career with the Khadamat al-Shati club in Gaza, before joining the ranks of the Al-Amari Youth Center Club in the occupied West Bank.
The football star leaves behind a wife and five children.
Both UEFA and FIFA have allowed them to play across the world despite banning Russia from doing the same over the war in Ukraine
The World Cup is being held in the US. I doubt the USA (or rather, its president) would have even allowed entry to the Palestine team if they had qualified. I suspect the Iranian team will not be allowed entry to the country.
Yet Israel are allowed to crack on.
It’s tragic deaths like this that remind me that it’s more than just human lives being mass-murdered, but the extinguishing of vast human potential.