The Israeli army on Wednesday killed Palestinian international runner Allam Al Amour after shooting him as he tried to get aid in the city of Khan Younis in Gaza.
Family members told Anadolu Al Amour “was martyred by Israeli army gunfire near what are known as American aid centres.”
Al Amour had won the bronze medal at the West Asia Clubs Athletics Championship in the youth category, hosted in Doha in March 2023, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The Palestinian runner secured bronze in the 3,000-metre race in the tournament's first edition, which featured 250 athletes representing 12 clubs from West Asian federations.
The news about Al Amour comes just weeks after famous Palestinian national team footballer Suleiman al Obaid was killed in an Israeli strike under similar circumstances, while waiting for humanitarian aid in the besieged enclave.
More than 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s offensive on October 7, 2023, as the sports community continues to suffer under bombardment, starvation and the collapse of infrastructure, according to Palestinian officials.
Athletes, coaches and referees have been killed, and entire sports facilities have been bombed, burned or repurposed as mass graves. Some 90 percent of sports infrastructure in Gaza has reportedly been destroyed.
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said 421 football players were among the 808 athletes killed in Gaza over the past 22 months, nearly half of them children.
In total, Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The war has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine due to Israeli blockade, rendering it uninhabitable.
