Yarmouk Stadium: From Football Glory to Tragedy – A Chronicle of Detention and Torture
Watan-The Yarmouk Stadium, once a vibrant place filled with life and love for football, has transformed into a site of detention and torture for Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupation forces during their ongoing war on the Gaza Strip for the 88th consecutive day.
Israeli occupation forces have turned the Yarmouk Sports Stadium, located east of Gaza City, into a place for the torture and detention of Palestinians, subsequently destroying the entire facility with their vehicles.
The Yarmouk Stadium has become a site of detention and torture for Palestinians
Video clips circulated by the Palestinian Football Association on its social media accounts depict Israeli occupation soldiers present on the grassy field of the Yarmouk Stadium, calling out to Palestinian civilians during their arrest, stripping them of their clothes, and subjecting them to torture at this location.
The final of the Palestinian Cup
The Yarmouk Sports Stadium is considered one of the oldest football stadiums in Palestine, founded in 1938. It can accommodate about 10,000 spectators in its stands, and it has a natural grass surface along with an Olympic track.
The stadium has hosted numerous historical sporting events, with one of the highlights being the 2015 Palestinian Cup final between Shabab Al-Shuja’iya and Ahli Al-Khalil, the 2016 final between Shabab Khan Yunis and Ahli Al-Khalil, and the 2017 final between Ahli Al-Khalil and Shabab Rafah.
More than 150 Palestinian athletes have risen as martyrs during the most intense Israeli war in the history of the Palestinian conflict with the Zionist entity in the Gaza Strip, dating back to the Palestinian Nakba in 1948.
It is worth noting that the toll of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has reached more than 21,000 Palestinian martyrs, the majority of whom were civilians, including children and women. Approximately 56,000 people have suffered various injuries since the beginning of the war on October 7th, according to the latest statistics released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
