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News broke on Monday evening of Mohammed Barakat’s death as a result of an Israeli airstrike on his hometown of Khan Younis.
Barakat’s name will be familiar to followers of the Palestine national team as the striker participated in three matches during the Jamal Mahmoud era. His goalscoring prowess- he is the only player to have scored 100 goals for a single club- for Ittihad Khan Younis sparked an illustrious career.
His brief stint with the national team earned him a trial with Jordanian giants Al-Wehdat and a move abroad with Al-Shoalah in the Saudi First Division. He scored on his debut for the Saudi club in 2015.
While he was limited to only three appearances with the national football team Barakat found another way to represent Palestine on the world stage- becoming a fixture of the country’s Beach Soccer Team. In 2012, Barakat and his compatriots won the bronze medal at the Asian Beach Games beating hosts China, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Oman and only losing to eventual champions Iran in the semifinal.
Barakat scored four goals in that tournament. His knack for goal scoring elongated his career and he was still an active player at the start of the 2023/24 season. His last goal came in August on the pitch of Al-Yarmouk stadium- an equalizer for Ahli Gaza in a 1-1 draw against Ittihad Shojaeyah.
Unfortunately, Mohammed Barakat’s death at the age of 39 is not an isolated incident. During the ongoing genocide on Gaza, Israel has killed 157 Palestinian athletes of which 91 are footballers. Another five are currently being held in Israeli prisons without charge.
Nor has the violence been restricted to Gaza. Israeli forces killed three Palestinian footballers affiliated with Merkaz Tulkarem in a raid in Tulkarem earlier in the week. Israel also killed Ittihad Baalbeck captain Mustafa Gharib in an airstrike in Lebanon.
The latest deaths follow the murder of Olympic team coach Hani Al-Masdar and former national team defender Mouyin Al-Maghribi in January.
