Sports World Caught Between Israel & Gaza

Months after maintaining status quo, international players and teams across disciplines have started reacting more vocally to the ongoing issue. Swaroop Swaminathan tries to find out what led to the shift

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N August 9, a veneer of silence was shattered; the rules of engagement had subtly changed with respect to how elite athletes publicly viewed Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza post Hamas's attacks on October 7, 2023. Mo Salah, the Arab and the Muslim world's most influential athlete, changed it with 10 words and three prepositions. "Can you tell us," he asked the UEFA account, "how he died, where, and why?"

It was in response to a tweet from the official UEFA handle about Suleiman al-Obeid's death. Salah did not name Israel, he did not name Palestine, he did not say how Al Obeid was killed but it resonated. It has since generated over 395,000 reposts and over 1.5 million likes.

Referred to as the 'Palestinian Pele', Al-Obeid, 41, was waiting for humanitarian aid with other civilians when he was killed on August 6, according to the Palestine Football Association (an Israel Defence Forces spokesperson has denied the incident). In all, 'the number of footballers killed or who died from starvation has reached 421, including 103 children', as per the PFA in a statement made in the first week of August (Israel has repeatedly challenged the accuracy of the fatality list put out by Gazan officials. They have frequently said it's 'Hamas propaganda').

Mohammad al Sharif wanted to become an Al-Obeid-like figure—a footballer for the Palestine national team. Like many kids, he was a dreamer. He used to keep goal for a local club in Gaza. These days, Al Sharif goes to sleep every night not knowing if he would wake up to see the Sun the following morning (this daily has been in touch with Al Sharif).

According to international media reports, since the beginning of the siege, over 650 Palestinian athletes have been killed. Or, to put it another way, an average of one on Monday. One on Tuesday and so on. They have roughly lost one athlete every day for the last 23 months (Israel have repeatedly challenged the death toll).