FIFA concerned over Israel aggression against Gaza Strip

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has expressed concerns over Israeli military strikes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 650 people and wounded many more.

“I am very much concerned with this situation in the region. We are heartbroken to learn that people from the football community have been killed. FIFA and I personally deplore this situation and any form of violence,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter said as he held talks with the head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajub in Zurich on Tuesday.

Blatter added, “We are united in hoping for peace in this region and across the world.”

“I appreciate the commitment of the FIFA president to develop and invest in football in Palestine, despite the difficulties we face,” Rajub said.

“We believe football should remain a tool to build bridges between people. I am very saddened by the loss of Palestinian life in the current conflict but I am still optimistic that peace will prevail,” he stated.

Israel unleashed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on July 8. Over the past 15 days, Israeli warplanes have been hitting numerous sites in the besieged Gaza Strip, demolishing houses and burying families in the rubble. Israel also began a ground offensive against the impoverished enclave on July 17.

At least 655 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 4,200 others injured in Israel’s latest offensive.

Palestinian resistance fighters have also retaliated against the deadly Israeli attacks by firing a barrage of rockets deep into the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. They have also killed some 30 Israelis in their retaliatory operations.

Top Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh has vowed that the besieged Palestinian territory will turn into “a graveyard for Israeli soldiers.”