An Israeli airstrike killed Mahmoud Kamal Abdel-Malek, a 20-year-old goalkeeper for Gaza Sports Club's first team, in Gaza City on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), as Israeli attacks on the enclave continue despite the ceasefire.
Abdel-Malek was killed when an Israeli strike targeted Al-Maghribi Street in the al-Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City, the association said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Gaza Sports Club mourned the young goalkeeper, who had recently represented the team in the Thousand Martyrs Cup, a tournament held in honour of Palestinian athletes killed since October 2023.
"Club legend and goalkeeper of the first team Mahmoud Kamal Fares Abdel-Malik was martyred moments ago," the club wrote in a social media post announcing his death.
The club finished as runners-up in the Gaza and northern Gaza division of the competition, with Abdel-Malek contributing to the team's campaign.
With Abdel-Malek's killing, the number of Palestinian sports figures killed by Israeli forces since October 2023 has risen to 1,017, according to figures released by the Palestinian Football Association. The toll includes athletes and other members of the Palestinian sports community.
His killing came just days after 15-year-old Palestinian footballer Muhammad Nidal Barbakh was shot dead by Israeli forces on November 6 while playing football with his friends in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, according to the PFA.
The killings come as Palestinian football attempts to resume competitions after years of Israeli genocide on Gaza, which have killed athletes and damaged sports facilities across the Strip.
The human losses and destruction have left Palestinian sport in an "existential" crisis, according to Palestinian Sports Media Federation Secretary-General Mustafa Siam.
Israel has destroyed more than 50 of Gaza's 56 sports clubs and about 20 five-a-side football fields established by the PFA with support from FIFA, he told the Anadolu news agency in August.
