Palestinian footballer mourns loss of family

International forums, sports stars and FIFA have turned blind eye to Israeli barbarism'

KARACHI:

While the sports pages across the world reported on the clashes between the Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC and pro-Palestinian fans after the Europa League match between the Israeli club and Ajax FC, a Palestinian women's referee and footballer Maha Mohammad Shabat is grieving the loss of 11 more family members in a fresh Israeli attack in Northern Gaza.

FIFA's repugnant reluctance to ban Israel from competitions and impose any sanctions like it did on Russia and Belarus in 2022 after the Ukraine invasion only raise questions in the on-going genocide in Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

Just last month FIFA again managed to evade the ban after a meeting at its headquarters in Zurich the world body refrained from reaching any decision and delayed it till May for its Disciplinary Committee to review the Palestine Football Federation's allegations of discrimination.

According to a report issued by the Palestinian Olympic Committee more than 400 athletes, including 245 footballers, have been killed in Israeli attacks. That report was released in July this year, since then there have been many more who have been murdered by Israeli forces.

Many football clubs have been closed because of the on-going genocide and attacks on Gaza and sports facilities have been destroyed as well.

The most prominent violation of Olympism and FIFA's spirit honouring human rights came in the form of Israeli Forces' use of Yarmouk Stadium as a prison for Gazans, where they were kept temporarily and tortured during their captivity.

"By God, the situation is very difficult. You cannot imagine, but today (Thursday) there was a massacre of my cousin's family," Maha told this correspondent. She is a footballer, a certified referee and a footballer from Gaza who has extensively worked at grassroots level in the schools set up by the United Nations agencies and other NGOs.

She shared a screenshot of all the 11 family members bearing her last name, Shabat, who had been killed in the Israeli airstrike on Thursday while they were seeking shelter at schools.

Maha and I text one another on a regular basis through the limited internet access she has in Gaza. She texts in Arabic, which I later translate into English.

She has already lost her brother among 25 other family members since October 7 2023.

"We need countries to stand with us until the war ends, Enough innocents have been killed in cold blood. The wound is deep in our hearts," she texted on the night of the massacre, aggrieved and indignant.

The plight of athletes in Gaza and the precarious situation their families are living through falls on deaf ears though, when it comes to the international forums, and leaderships of FIFA and the International Olympic Committee. Even political leaders are jumping in to condemn it, but where are the condemnations of the attacks on Gaza?

There is a stark contrast in the way the world reacts to their losses.

The reaction from leaders and sports personalities after violence that flared up in Amsterdam post Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv is one such example.

Coming back to prioritizing Maha, as a friend, I asked her to explain what is going on and how the situation is for her and her family. She described the most gut-wrenching reality faced in Gaza.

"We search for safety every time we are displaced from Jabalia Camp. My family, cousins, and their children went to a school in western Gaza after leaving Jabalia Camp. But we still did not find any safe place, there is no safety from Israeli forces.

"They asked us to go to western Gaza. Every day they bomb the displaced people under false pretexts.

"Today (Thursday) they bombed a class that belonged to two families and my closest family is the Shabat family. There were 11 martyrs, all girls, children like roses."

Maha had also been injured earlier this year after her house was bombed by the Israeli forces, while she had been struggling with her health as well while trying to seek a shelter at different schools.

"Where do we go? Where do we search for safety? There is no safety in Gaza. I wish I could sleep for one hour in peace," rued Maha.

While facing constant attacks from the Israeli forces, the other enemy of the displaced Gazans is the cold weather and food scarcity.

"On the top of all the troubles, on top of the cold, there is no food or drink, and everything is unavailable. Whatever goods that are available are also very expensive, we can't afford them.

"They left us without mattresses or covers. We slept on the floor, like the floor in the refrigerator, but we lived in safety for a bit," Maha explained the living conditions.

Her only appeal is for the Arab countries and international community to stop the war "as soon as possible".