FAD new
FAD new
Obeid scored twice for the Palestinian national side, most memorably with a scissor-kick against Yemen during the 2010 West Asian Football Federation championship. Photo: X
Former Palestinian international footballer Suleiman al-Obeid has been killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said on Thursday.
The 41-year-old, nicknamed the “Palestinian Pelé” for his prolific scoring record, was among civilians waiting for humanitarian aid when the attack occurred on Wednesday, according to the PFA.
Born in Gaza in 1984, al-Obeid began his career with Khadamat al-Shati before moving to Markaz Shabab al-Am’ari in the West Bank and later Gaza Sport.
He earned 24 caps for the Palestinian national team after his debut in 2007, scoring twice, including a scissor-kick goal against Yemen in the 2010 West Asian Football Federation championship. The PFA said he scored more than 100 goals in his career.
The association reported that 421 footballers, including 103 children, have been killed or died of starvation in Gaza since the war began. It added that 288 sports facilities have been damaged or destroyed, most of them in Gaza.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah criticised European football’s governing body UEFA after it posted a tribute to al-Obeid without mentioning how he died. In a short message on X, UEFA described the player as “a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”
Salah responded: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”
Salah, one of the Premier League’s leading scorers with 186 goals and 87 assists, has previously called for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Football Palestine founder Bassil Mikdadi said he did not expect UEFA to amend its statement, citing what he described as a broader “silence” from football bodies since the start of the war.
Al-Obeid’s death is the latest in a series of strikes on or near aid distribution points in Gaza. The United Nations says more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in such incidents since late May, when the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations.
The PFA said al-Obeid is survived by his wife and five children.
HT