Suleiman Obeid martyred; killed by Israeli strike.
Obeid- one of the biggest talents to come out of Gaza and a former national team player- martyred at 43 years of age.
Suleiman Obeid, one of Palestine's most talented players of the the 2000s and 2010s, was killed by an Israeli drone strike on Wednesday while attempting to secure aid.
By conservative estimates, Israel's genocide of Gaza has claimed the lives of at least 60,000 Palestinians. The death and destruction Israel has wrought has not been confined to just Gaza as thousands of innocent people have also been murdered in the West Bank over the past two years. No matter how shocking the numbers, institutions the world over who were once keen to promote human rights have remained silent.
It is important to remember that these people are much more than just numbers. Each person killed represents a life ended abruptly with dreams unfulfilled and hundreds of friends and family left to grieve. Footballers have not been spared. Obeid is one of over 400 footballers to be killed by Israel over the last 669 days.
Suleiman (43), who celebrated two birthdays during the genocide, was still playing football in October 2023 at the ripe old age of 41.
Obeid represented the national team 23 times- earning 21 official caps and scoring two goals between 2007 and 2013. He was somewhat unlucky that his prime as a football coincided with the worst period in national team history. He was best known for his blistering pace and wreaking havoc down the wings and also had an eye for goal.
In an interview with Football Palestine earlier this year Palestine's all-time top goalscorer Oday Dabbagh commented that although he did not follow much football growing up he really liked watching Obeid whilst he was in the West Bank Premier League with Shabab Al-Am'ary in 2011/12.
After five seasons in the WBPL, Obeid decided to return home to Gaza in 2015. He won the league's Golden Boot award for three straight seasons: in 2015/16 (17 goals), 2016/17 (15 goals), and 2017/18 (12 goals) with Gaza Al-Riyadi and then back-to-back with his hometown side Khadamat Al-Shate'.
In spite of suffering relegation in 2021/22 Obeid refused to abandon his club- dropping down a division. He led them straight back to the top flight and after five match days in 2023/24 Khadamat Al-Shate' had a 3-1-1 record and was one of the early title contenders before the league's suspension.
"Honestly, I am not thinking of retirement." he told Kooora in September 2023. "I help my team and have remained a starter under different managers."
Obied's time with the national team is oft overlooked but not only did he score two lovely goals vs Yemen in 2010 and Indonesia the following year he also played an often overlooked role in qualifying Palestine for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. With Palestine shut out of Asian Cup qualification they had to first qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in March 2013 and then win the competition in May 2014 to punch their tickets to Australia.
To complicate matters, Palestine's qualification matches were not played on FIFA match
days meaning Jamal Mahmoud had to rely on an exclusively Palestine based squad. His captain for matches against Bangladesh, Northern Mariana Islands, and Nepal? Suleiman Obeid.
Obeid is the third Palestine national team player to be killed by Israel during the genocide. Mouyin Al-Maghribi and Mohammed Barakat were murdered in January and March 2024, respectively. With less than 250 players officially capped since 1998, Israel has now killed just over 1% of Palestine's national team.
Obeid will forever be remembered for his infectious personality and the wide grin he wore on and off the field.