IDF Reveals Identities of Gaza Terrorists Who Doubled as Professional Soccer Players, Coaches
The military said some were portrayed as athletes abroad while serving in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and several were tied to October 7 attacks.
- On Wednesday, The Israel Defense Forces revealed that 12 Gaza soccer figures, including players and referees, were active operatives in Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed during the war.
- The IDF released these identities to refute what it called a 'false campaign' alleging the military deliberately targeted innocent athletes, stating terrorists were often presented as civilians.
- Among those named, Mohammed Barakat allegedly participated in the October 7, 2023, attacks, while international FIFA referee Mohammed Sami Mohammed Khattab was identified as a member of Islamic Jihad's Central Camps Brigade.
- Previously, groups like the Asian Football Confederation issued condolences for these individuals, having portrayed them solely as athletes without knowledge of their alleged terrorist affiliations.
- The IDF stated it will continue disclosing such intelligence to 'present the full facts,' describing the effort as countering a 'broader effort promoted by various actors against the State of Israel.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Israel claims 12 Gaza football figures it killed were militants
Israel said on Wednesday several Palestinian soccer players, coaches and a referee who were among internationally reported civilian casualties during its war on Gaza were operatives in the military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad .
Israel accuses twelve Palestinian football players, coaches and arbitrators killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip of working for radical Islamic Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The Palestinian Football Association is out of its mind and complains that Israel is trying "to cover up its crimes with false accusations." The Israeli army declared that it is now "proclaiming the identities of Palestinian football players, arbitrators and coaches repres…
IDF names 12 slain Gaza soccer figures who were Hamas, Islamic Jihad terrorists
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday identified 12 Palestinian soccer players, coaches and a FIFA referee whom it said served in the "military" wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, explaining why it eliminated them and rejecting what it described as a false campaign accusing Israel of deliberately targeting athletes during the war in Gaza.The military said that the men were targeted because of their involvement in terrorist activity, …
TERRORISTS IN UNIFORM: IDF Exposes Gaza Soccer Players, Coaches and FIFA Referee as Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members
The IDF on Wednesday released the identities of Gaza soccer players, coaches and referees who were presented internationally solely as athletes or civilians, but whom Israeli intelligence identified as members of the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The disclosure came in response to an international campaign accusing Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian athletes […]
After the end of the 2026 World Cup, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a survey of 11 players and an arbitrator who have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war in the region. According to the Israeli military, the athletes also acted in strategic positions of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian organization founded in 1981 that receives support from Iran and was considered a terrorist organization by the US and th…
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