Young footballer killed with 14 family members in Israeli strike on Gaza home

The Palestinian Football Association announced Monday that 14-year-old Al-Hilal player Mohammed Ramez Al-Sultan was killed along with 14 members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in the north of Gaza City.

In a statement, the association said the player was killed Friday when Israeli forces struck his family’s house in the Al-Tuwam area.

Al-Hilal Club wrote on the US social media company Facebook’s platform that Al-Sultan was “one of the graduates of the club’s academy accredited by FIFA” and that he was killed alongside his father and relatives, joining teammate Malik Abu Al-Amaren.

On Sept. 6, Abu Al-Amaren, a youth player for Al-Hilal, was shot dead by Israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid in northern Gaza.

The killing of Al-Sultan and his family comes amid ongoing Israeli attacks that have wiped out entire Palestinian families in Gaza and claimed the lives of athletes, journalists, doctors and students as part of the broader war targeting all sectors of society.

On Aug. 26, Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association, said Palestinian sports are experiencing an “unprecedented catastrophe” after losing 774 members of the sports community to Israel’s war.

He noted that the death toll included 355 football players, 277 from other sports federations and 142 scouts, in addition to 119 missing. He added that 15 sports journalists were also killed, while 288 sports facilities in the West Bank and Gaza were either totally or partially destroyed.

Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and devastated the enclave, which faces famine.

Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war in the territory.