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IDF Claims Gaza Soccer Players Were Members of Terrorist Organizations

The IDF disclosed that several Gazan soccer players, referees, and coaches who were killed during the war and portrayed internationally as innocent athletes were simultaneously members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations. The military released names and alleged roles, including Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Barakat, described as a soccer player and Islamic Jihad terrorist who infiltrated Israel on October 7th, and Mahmoud Kamal Mohammad Ali Al-Rifi, identified as a soccer player and company commander in Hamas' Aerial Array. The IDF stated this disclosure refutes claims that it deliberately targeted innocent Palestinian soccer players, calling such allegations part of a false campaign similar to cases where eliminated terrorists were presented as journalists or aid workers.