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The Palestinian sports community woke up Saturday morning, to the tragic news of the murder of Hani “Abu Al-Abd” Al-Masdar, the former football player and general manager of the national Olympic team.
His killing came as a result of being hit by shrapnel from a missile that was dropped by IDF aircraft near his home in the village of Al-Masdar in the Central Governorate in the Gaza Strip.
The forty-two-year-old left behind a distinguished impact on Palestinian football both as a player and coach and is another loss for Palestinian football during this ongoing genocide.
The elegant midfielder, the owner of magical passes, a leadership and positive personality, and high morals, began his career as a player in the ranks of Al-Maghazi Club, then joined the ranks of Gaza Sports Club until he retired from playing in 2018.
After his retirement, Al-Masdar becanme Gaza Sports Club’s technical director, before taking on a new experience and another challenge with the Deir Al-Balah, earning promotion to the first division league.
In 2021, Al-Musdar joined Palestine’s Olympic Team as a general manager in the technical staff led by Ihab Abu Jazar. He was involved with the team during U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in 2021 in Jordan and 2023 in Bahrain, the 2023 WAFF Championship held in Iraq, the 2023 Arab Games in Algeria, and the 2023 Asian Games in China.
Hani Al-Masdar’s passing comes at a time of great loss for Palestine and its people. Israel has been accused of carrying out a genocide and will stand trial at the International Court of Justice later this month.
Palestinian sport and athletes have not been spared and last month the pitch of Al-Yarmouk Stadium was turned into a concentration camp by IDF soldiers.
Since October 7, about 88 athletes from various team and individual sports have been martyred, including 67 in football. More than 24 administrators and technicians have also been martyred, while eight individuals from the sports movement have been arrested, in addition to more than 15 sports facilities being targeted by Israeli airstrikes and tank shells.
Football Palestine urges all who are against violence to sign DiEM25’s petition demanding FIFA, FIBA, and UEFA suspend Israel from international sport.
