The Palestinian Sports Media Association (PSMA) has reported that 708 athletes, including 95 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel since October 7, 2023, Anadolu reports.

The head of the PSMA, Mustafa Siyam, told Anadolu that the deaths of handball coach Ahmad Haroun from the Rabat Handball Club and Anas al-Debji, who played for the Deir al-Balah and Al-Jalaa clubs, raised the number of athletes killed to 708.

He noted that Haroun was killed in an artillery strike targeting his home on Friday in the west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, while al-Debji was killed in an airstrike that hit his family’s home on Wednesday in the west of Deir al-Balah.

Siyam said those killed included 369 football players, 105 members of scouting organisations and 234 athletes from various sports federations.