Athletes are also paying the price for Israeli massacres in Gaza sports

More than half of the martyrs who fell in the Israeli aggression on Gaza were children and women, and since indiscriminate bombing no longer differentiated between the residents of the Gaza Strip, athletes joined the convoy of martyrs who were targeted by the Israeli war machine.

On the 21st day of the aggression, the number of martyrs of the Israeli massacres in Gaza rose to 7,326 martyrs, including 2,913 children, 1,709 women and girls, and about 18,500 injured, in addition to 1,650 missing persons, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which… A list of the names of all martyrs was published In response to Washington’s skepticism about the numbers of victims of the Israeli aggression.

Among these martyrs was Nazir Atta Al-Nashash, a player for the Khidmat Al-Bureij Football Club, who was martyred – last Saturday – as a result of the Israeli bombing of his family’s home in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Olympic Committee announced – on its official Facebook page – the news of the martyrdom of Nazeer (20 years old), making him the seventh athlete martyred since the Israeli aggression on October 7, and the other six martyrs are:

• Abdul Hafeez Al-Mabhouh, player of the national judo team.
• Omar Abu Shawish, member of the Executive Office of the Sports Culture Federation.
• Bassem Al Nabahin, player of Al Bureij Basketball Club.
• Muhammad Al-Dalu, President of the Table Tennis Federation.
• Rashid Dabour, player of Ahly Beit Hanoun Club and the Palestinian national football team.
• Muhammad Matar, who worked in the media committee of the Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

Nazir was not martyred alone, as his father and uncle were killed with him. The Nashash family had been displaced from their home in the Jabalia refugee camp in the north after the massacres committed by the occupation in the northern Gaza Strip.

Imad Al-Nashash, a relative of the family, told the Middle East Eye website that Nazir (20 years old), his father Atta (43 years old), and his uncle Nael, returned last Saturday to the six-story building in which they live in the camp to retrieve some belongings and necessities.

Imad, who works as a broadcaster on Jordanian radio and television, added, “As soon as they entered, an Israeli plane targeted the house with two missiles, which led to the complete destruction of the house and they were martyred immediately.”

Hammad Al-Nashash, Nazeer’s cousin and resident of Jordan, confirmed that other members of the family were also injured while standing outside the building.

Hammad said about the football player and university student: “Nazir was an ambitious young man, optimistic about the future, and loved life and football.”

Nazir’s sister, Yousra, 18, wrote touching letters to her brother, father and uncle on Atta’s Facebook page.

She described her brother as “a piece of her heart,” and wrote: “You enrolled me in your university so that I could be with you, so that we would never be apart, and go together and do everything together to become engineers.”

Yousra wrote to her father: “Dad, you are the crown of my head… We wanted to die together so that none of us would feel sorry for the other. Where did you go, Dad?”

The Nashash family – originally from the town of Al-Faluja, located about 20 kilometers east of the Gaza Strip – took refuge in Jabalia after the Nakba of 1948.

In the world of football, many prominent former and current players have expressed their support for the Palestinians, sparking some backlash.

Karim Benzema, the best player in the world in 2022, wrote on his account on the “X” platform last week, “All our prayers are for the people of Gaza, who are once again victims of this unjust bombing, from which neither women nor children were spared.”

Benzema, the captain of the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, was criticized by French right-wing politicians because of his statements in support of the Palestinians.

In a post titled “Free Palestine,” Eric Cantona, the former French football player known for his social activism, on Instagram on the 17th of this month, called for “freedom for the Palestinians from the Israeli occupation.”

In a statement published on Facebook on the 18th of this month, in response to the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza, the Arab Sports Culture Union urged national and international sports institutions to call for a ceasefire and expand their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The association also announced that Arab athletes will not participate in any future tournament hosting Israeli athletes in protest against the killing of civilians in Gaza.