Mohammed Shaalan, a 39-year-old basketball player from Gaza, died on Tuesday in Gaza from an attack while trying to look for food for his children in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

Shaalan, who played for the Khadamat Al-Bureij and Khadamat Al-Maghazi clubs and contributed to their titles in the Israeli Basketball League, the Gaza Strip, is the second loss to hit Gazan sport this August.

Gaza sport affected by the war with Israel

Two weeks ago, Suleiman al-Obeid, former player of the national team, known as "the Palestinian Pele" in homage to the Brazilian star for being considered the best soccer player in Palestinian history, also died near Khan Yunis while seeking humanitarian assistance for his family.

The deaths of these two athletes join the more than 660 lives of athletes who have lost their lives in Gaza since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, both in bombings and in the vicinity of humanitarian aid distribution centers, where the population risks themselves daily to get food, according to the Palestinian Sports Media Association.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, more than 62,000 Gazans have died in Israeli attacks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Of these, nearly 2,000 were killed by Israeli army fire around aid distribution points or while waiting on roads for food trucks to pass.

Israeli army controls Gaza gates

Israeli military spokeswoman Effie Defrin stated that “the army now controls the gates of Gaza City,” while informing the media on Wednesday about the start of preliminary operations for the invasion of the Gaza capital.

“We have begun preliminary operations in the first stages of the offensive in Gaza City,” said the spokesperson, thus confirming the announcement made by another military spokesman in the morning to the same effect.

Defrin noted that the invasion of the Gaza capital marks the beginning of "Phase 2" of Operation Gideon's Chariots (the name Israel gave to the renewal of its offensive in Gaza after breaking the ceasefire on March 18).