Suleiman didn't die; Israel killed him, making him queue up for food
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Suleiman al-Obeid—he was a celebrity among Palestinians, wrapped in the pride of being their own Pele. Starting from playing football on the sandy beach of Gaza and then for the Beach Services Club, he rose through Gaza Sports to earn a place on the national team as a shining star. Credited with over a hundred goals, Suleiman rose to the national team and became known as the ‘Pele’ with his spectacular 'scissor kick' goal against Yemen in the 2010 West Asian Championship, becoming a celebrity. He coached local children from his hometown. He raised the Palestinian flag in 24 international matches. But what after all this? He was born in Gaza, where love for art and sports are virtues meant only for those with humanity. What football for those demons of monstrosity who roast the children of Gaza in the furnace of racial sadism and cruelty caused by hunger? To them, Suleiman al-Obeid is just another Gazan to be dribbled to death. Thus, the martyr became only an addition to the statistic among the 61,400 people killed in Palestine up to Monday.
Like the hundreds of thousands of martyrs in Palestine, Suleiman too had a life woven in dreams. Football was the beginning of that. Whenever Israel’s rain of fire and bullets ceased over Gaza’s war zone, Suleiman would go out to play football. But his wife Dua and five children were not sport for him, it was serious matter. His dreams were filled with hopes, to play football until the age of fifty and to raise his children with pride. Palestinians, including artists, athletes, experts, and journalists, live amid such colorful dreams until death calls. Suleiman was standing in line with his family at a food distribution centre near the refugee camp at Ashtik, in front of Israel's hunger murder machinery, prepared with the tacit support of the world. That day, as refugees were fleeing in panic, Israel fired missiles at them, and Suleiman al-Obeid became one among the approximately 1,500 people brutally killed by Israel in that manner.
One need not be unfair: the European Football Association (UEFA) solemnly issued a two-line condolence message. “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times,” UEFA wrote in X. This message went beyond what those who love Suleiman, who love Gaza, and who are heartbroken over the genocide could bear. Suleiman did not retire, nor did he die of old age, nor did he lie bedridden with injuries from the playing field until his last breath. Yet why is everyone unanimously hesitant even to name the murderers who killed Suleiman? Bearing all the anguish and pain of Palestine in their hearts, Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah fiercely trolled UEFA, or rather the entire sleeping world: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?” Within hours, that single response, which reached tens of millions, transformed what was a natural killing for Israel into a question that disturbed the world’s sleep. This is not the first time that Salah did this; from the very first day of Zionist terrorism in Gaza, Salah has stood up for Palestinians.
Despite the mass killing of over 62,000 innocent souls, Israel continues its attacks without quenching its bloodlust, and Salah asked why the world is unable to stop it. Even while life unravels in a small strip ravaged by war, the people of Gaza have shown exceptional resilience and excelled in the fields they engaged in without paying heed to the destruction. Gaza’s people include top medical experts, numerous acclaimed academics, internationally recognized artists and journalists, and a young generation that steadfastly holds on to football, athletics, and other sports even in the face of death. Thus, the people of Gaza represent an extraordinarily resilient human resource. It is this very population that Israel is uprooting with missile strikes and starvation. Among those killed so far in Gaza, 421 are footballers, including 103 children. A total of 268 playing fields, from large stadiums to small playgrounds, have been crushed and rendered unusable. Zionist racial terrorism in Gaza is not only about slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent people but also about erasing a magnificent human civilisation built on the blood-soaked soil of endless wars. Yet, Mohamed Salah has pierced with the spear of his burning question the hypocrisy of a world that hesitates to lift a finger in protest against Israel
