Palestinian athlete among those killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza as bombing continues for third day

A Palestinian karateka has been identified as among those killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Friday, with the bombardment continuing into its third day on Sunday.

Youssef Qaddoum, who was a member of the Palestinian Al-Zaytoun Sports Club, was reportedly killed during Israeli strikes on the neighbourhood of Al-Shuja’iyya, east of Gaza city.

The Palestinian Shehab news agency quoted the sports club in a statement saying that "the young martyr Youssef Qaddoum was present at his house with a number of his neighbours before they were caught by the missiles of the Zionist enemy planes".

The club went on to state that the karate player was immediately martyred after the targeting, and that prayers will be sent to comfort the deceased’s family. They also urged all human rights organisations to intervene in the series of daily crimes carried out by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian athletes".

Qaddoum, who was 24 years old, was described as one of the club’s most distinguished karate players and has participated in many sports tournaments.

The Palestinian Supreme Council for Youth and Sports offered its condolences to Qaddoum’s family, and condemned the "chain of criminal acts of the Zionist entity" against the Palestinian people in general and athletes in particular, according to local media.

The karateka is the son of Suleiman Qaddoum, who was killed by Israeli occupational forces in 2002 near the now-defunct illegal settlement of Netzarim, southwest of Gaza City.

Since Friday, Israel has launched a series of strikes on Gaza, which have killed at least 30 Palestinians, including six children. More than 200 people have also been wounded according to Gaza’s health ministry, with several houses and buildings suffering from severe damage.

Israel says it is carrying out the bombardments to prevent attacks from the Islamic Jihad group, and claims that both it and the Hamas-ruling party are concealing weapons in the enclave’s residential areas. Two senior members of the group – Taysir al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour – have been confirmed to be killed.

Moreover, Israel also warned that its aggression on the besieged enclave could "last a week" or even longer, according to military spokesperson Ran Kochav.