The latest increase in the toll was recorded after the killing of Abdel Fattah Abu Al-Aish, a Jabalia Services Club player, on Saturday, following the targeting of an electric bicycle belonging to a private delivery company in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City.
Abu Al-Eish was preparing with his team to participate in the “Thousand Martyrs Cup” tournament, which was organized by the Palestinian Football Association and was scheduled to start on September 4. He played as a defender with Jabalia Services in the Palestinian First Division League, and also had a short experience with Ahli Beit Hanoun.
According to Siam, the toll is not limited to players, but includes coaches, referees, administrators, and officials in the Palestinian Football Association, while the arrests and killings of Palestinian athletes in the West Bank also affected.
At the facility level, more than 50 clubs out of 56 in Gaza were destroyed, along with about 20 five-a-side fields established by the Palestinian Football Association with support from FIFA, according to the Palestinian Sports Media Federation.
Despite the destruction, limited attempts to restore sports activity in the Gaza Strip began in March through an official five-a-side football tournament, with participation that was held on only 3 stadiums that escaped the destruction.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 174,000 have been injured, according to Palestinian figures reported by Anatolia. With a ceasefire in effect since October 10, 2025, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that subsequent Israeli violations led to hundreds of deaths and injuries.
