Displaced Palestinians play in a beach football tournament along the beach in Gaza City. (July 18)
‘Israeli’ military claims 12 killed Gaza football players were “Hamas terrorists”
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
The ‘Israeli’ military claimed Wednesday that 12 Gazan soccer players and coaches killed in ‘Israeli’ strikes were fighters affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The military claimed the alleged revelations were a counter to what it described as a "false campaign" portraying the ‘Israeli’ military as deliberately targeting civilians in the sports community.
“Following an intelligence investigation, it is now possible to reveal the terrorists’ organizational affiliation and their roles, despite the fact that in many cases they were presented to the world solely as soccer players,” it said in a statement.
The list includes names like Mohammed Barakat, who allegedly invaded ‘Israel’ on October 7 as a PIJ fighter; Mahmoud Kamal Mohammed Ali Al-Rifi, also claimed to be a company commander in Hamas’s aerial array; and Mohammed Mansour, reportedly a deputy commander in Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion who also participated in the October 7 operation.
Meet some of Hamas & Islamic Jihad’s “soccer players”: pic.twitter.com/nRdvM08AvG
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 22, 2026
Others allegedly held roles ranging from platoon commanders to members of anti-tank units, according to the ‘Israeli’ military claims.
Critics have long accused ‘Israel’ of using such post-strike revelations to justify civilian casualties in Gaza, where Palestinian authorities report hundreds of athletes killed amid widespread destruction of sports infrastructure.
