Israeli Military Claims Gaza Footballers and Referees are Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members

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The Israeli military has announced that a number of football players, coaches and a referee affiliated with the International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, from Gaza were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the report, the Israeli military has identified these individuals as operatives of the two groups and rejected claims that they were targeted solely due to their sporting activities. The report does not provide further details regarding the identities of the individuals, nor the time and location of their identification or operations. Furthermore, the published information does not mention any reaction from Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Palestinian sports bodies to these claims. Israeli officials state in similar cases that an individual's membership in armed groups, regardless of their profession or public activity, forms the basis of military assessment; however, claims regarding individuals' affiliations and the manner in which they were targeted require independent verification.