IDF Identifies 12 Gaza Soccer Figures as Hamas and PIJ Terrorists
The IDF says 12 figures from Gaza’s soccer community held roles in Hamas or PIJ, including several who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 attack
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On July 22, 2026, the IDF said an intelligence investigation had identified 12 Palestinians known for roles in Gaza’s football community — players, coaches, and a FIFA-listed international assistant referee — as operatives or commanders in the military wings of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The military said several of the men had also infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people.
Several of the men had previously been mourned or memorialized internationally — in some cases solely in connection with their sporting careers, as club captains, a national-team player, and an international referee — without any reporting of the militant affiliations Israel now alleges. The IDF said it released the information in response to recurring allegations from Palestinian sporting authorities and other critics that Israel had deliberately targeted members of Gaza’s football community, and pointed to similar disputes over the deaths of people identified elsewhere as journalists or aid workers.
“These individuals were not targeted because of their work, but because of their proven involvement in terrorist activity,” the military said. “They used their civilian professions as a cover for their terrorist affiliations, exploiting their protected status and endangering civilians.”
Three Tied to the October 7 Attack
The IDF said Mohammed Imad Atta Hassouna, captain of the Shabab Al-Zawaida club, was a member of Hamas’s military wing who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 attack. Hamas’s military wing has since published his name and photograph, identifying him as a member.
The IDF identified Mohammed Mohammed Hassan Barakat — a former Palestinian national-team player nicknamed the “Legend of Khan Younis” who, according to AP, also played professionally in Jordan and Saudi Arabia — as a PIJ operative who infiltrated Israel during the attack. His football career is independently documented, including a memorial tournament held in his honor in London.
The military said Mohammed Mansour, who played for and coached the youth division of a reserve-team club in Nuseirat, infiltrated Israel during the attack while serving as deputy commander of Hamas’s Nuseirat Battalion. Hamas’s military wing identified him as a member in March 2026.
FIFA-Listed Referee Identified as PIJ Commander
Mohammed Sami Mohammed Khattab was a FIFA-listed international assistant referee who officiated in the West Asian Championship and other international matches. The IDF identified him as a member of PIJ’s Central Camps Brigade, and PIJ’s own publications reportedly went further, describing him as a platoon commander.
More Names in Hamas and PIJ’s Ranks
The IDF identified Ahmed Mohammed Hassan Abu al-Atta, a 34-year-old defender whom Reuters reported was killed in June 2024, as a PIJ platoon commander; he had played for Ittihad Al-Shuja’iyya, Al-Tuffah, and Al-Ahli Gaza. A PIJ publication in June 2026 described him more specifically as deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade’s rocket unit.
Ali Mahmoud Ahmed al-Kurd, who played as a midfielder for Al-Qadisiyah Rafah before coaching both Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Istiqlal, was identified by the IDF as a PIJ platoon commander in Rafah; PIJ separately identified him as a member. The Jerusalem Post has reported that al-Kurd received an Asian Football Confederation coaching certificate before October 7, 2023.
Additional men the IDF identified:
• Mahmoud Osama al-Jazzar, a goalkeeper for Al-Qadisiyah and Khadamat Rafah, identified by the IDF as a PIJ operative; PIJ has specified his role as deputy commander of an elite unit in Rafah.
• Abdullah Riyad Abdullah Khattab, who played for Al-Ribat and Ittihad Shabab Deir al-Balah, identified by the IDF as a member of PIJ’s anti-tank array; PIJ separately identified him as a commander in June 2026.
• Mahmoud Kamal Mohammad Ali al-Rifi, captain of the Al-Jalaa club, identified by the IDF as a company commander in Hamas’s aerial array.
• Tarek Ziad Hussein al-Hour, a midfielder who played for several Gaza clubs, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas’s military wing.
• Mohammed Ziad Hussein al-Hour, a beach-soccer player the IDF said competed for the Palestinian national team in the 2013 West Asian Beach Soccer Championship, identified as a platoon commander in Hamas’s military wing in Nuseirat.
• Mohammed Nidal Mohammed al-Hawajri, identified by the IDF as a Hamas commander in Nuseirat; the IDF did not specify which club he played for.
Pattern of Exploiting Protected Civilian Status
The IDF emphasized that the cases represent “part of a broader effort promoted by various actors against the State of Israel,” noting similar disinformation campaigns have falsely portrayed eliminated terrorists as journalists, humanitarian aid workers, and other internationally protected professions.
“In those campaigns, Palestinian terrorists struck and eliminated by the IDF were presented as journalists, humanitarian aid workers, and other civilian professionals, while their involvement in terrorist activity was deliberately concealed in order to promote false claims that they had been targeted because of their civilian professions,” the military stated.
The revelation aligns with documented patterns of Hamas and PIJ systematically embedding operatives within civilian infrastructure and protected professions to shield military activities from scrutiny and generate propaganda when operatives are killed in military operations.