A Palestinian man who was one of the first amputee members of a squad of para-cyclists in Gaza has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, his team has announced.
Ahmed Al Dali was killed on Monday in an attack on the city of Khan Younis in the southern area of the besieged enclave, the Gaza Sunbirds team said.
The 33-year-old father-of-four lost his leg in 2014 after an Israeli bombing in Gaza. At the time, he was initially pronounced dead and placed in a morgue, before his body was reassessed and his family discovered he was still alive.
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In a post on Instagram, the Gaza Sunbirds said they were “devastated” by Mr Dali’s death, adding: “We are heartbroken. But we are also furious. This cannot continue.”
Mr Dali turned to para-sport “to prove that disability is not inability,” the team said. He played para-football and then became one of the first amputee members of the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling squad in 2022.
Mr Dali’s cousin, Alaa Al Dali, a co-founder and team captain of Gaza Sunbirds, said on Monday: “Ahmed survived the missile that took his leg in 2014, but today a second missile took his life.
“When we first started this journey, Ahmed was by my side. He was a great person filled with positivity and a love for sport. Today his life ended. It breaks my heart to have to continue our journey without him but we will keep going for all those who we lost during this genocide.”
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Karim Ali, co-founder and team manager of Gaza Sunbirds, said: “Ahmed’s courage on the bike was matched only by his devotion to his children and his community.”
He added: “Our team is witnessing civilians being killed daily, the supply of weapons from international governments needs to stop. As a team working tirelessly to deliver aid over the last 16 months, there is nothing more we can do. It is time for real change. We don’t want to lose more people.”
The Gaza Sunbirds formed in 2020 and have been working during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to distribute $450,000 (£337,000) worth of aid across the strip.
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It comes after Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Tuesday hit a family home and a school that was being used as a shelter, killing at least 60 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel has launched another major offensive in the territory with the aim of returning dozens of hostages still being held by Hamas and destroying the militant group.
More than 300 people have been killed in the latest onslaught, the officials said.
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Israel has agreed to allow a limited amount of aid into the territory, where around two million people live. It follows a two-and-a-half-month blockade that prevented the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other goods, bringing warnings the area was at risk of famine.
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The war began in October 2023 when Hamas militants stormed into Israeli communities near the border with Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
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Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza has displaced nearly all of the territory’s 2.3 million residents and killed more than 53,000, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count of the number of dead.
