The Israeli Defense Forces announced that they have identified twelve Palestinian soccer players, referees and coaches who are linked to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, contradicting earlier claims that they were merely civilian athletes.
Among those named are Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Barakat, a PIJ terrorist who took part in the October 7 massacre, Mohammad Emad Ata Hussouna, who participated in the same attacks as a Hamas operative, and Ali Mahmoud Ahmed Al‑Kurd, a soccer coach and platoon commander for PIJ in Rafah.
The broader context of the revelations
Other individuals include Mohammed Sami Mohammed Khattab, an internationally recognized FIFA referee, and several additional figures such as Mahmoud Kamal Mohammad Ali Al‑Rifi, Mohammed Ziad Hussein Al‑Hour, Mohammad Nidal Mohammed Al‑Hawajri, Tariq Ziad Hussein Al‑Hour, Ahmed Mohammed Hassan Abu Al‑Atta, Abdullah Riyadh Abdullah Khattab and Mahmoud Osama Al‑Jazzar.
The military said the effort to present these men as innocent civilians is part of a broader campaign to counter misinformation about Israel, aiming to expose the full facts behind the involvement of the soccer community in militant activities.
The revelations come amid heightened scrutiny of Gaza’s professional soccer circles, with the IDF highlighting the role of organizations like the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA in the region’s sporting landscape.