Barakat also played for several clubs in the occupied West Bank and Jordan, including Al-Wehdat.

Palestinian footballer Mohammed Barakat was killed on Monday after the Israeli occupation forces bombed his house in Khan Yunis.

The Barakat family’s home was bombed early in the day, the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, Al Jazeera reported.

Barakat was one of the top scorers and the first player in Gaza to score 100 goals for one team.

He represented the Palestinian national team and Al-Ahli Gaza football club in the local league.

‘Legend of Khan Yunis’

The 39-year-old scored 114 goals and is known as the “legend of Khan Yunis” due to his long association with the Khan Younis youth club of which he was captain.

Barakat also played for several clubs in the occupied West Bank and Jordan, including Al-Wehdat.

Khaled Abu Habal, defender of the Palestinian Maghazi Services team, described the death of striker Barakat as “a great loss for Palestinian football”.

“He was fast and smart. Top scorer. Off the pitch, he was nice and friendly. A beloved friend for everyone,” Abu Habal told Al Jazeera.

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Sports Martyrs

According to the Palestinian Football Association, the number of sports martyrs as a result of the ongoing Israeli genocidal war on Gaza and continued attacks on West Bank since October 7, 2023, has risen to 157.

90 of those killed were football players, including 23 children and 67 young players.

Additionally, 22 sports facilities were destroyed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in addition to the arrest of many athletes.

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Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 31,112 Palestinians have been killed, and 72,760 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(PC, AJA)