The participation of the Palestine Football Team at the Merdeka Cup 2023 appears to be in risk. This comes in the wake of Hamas incursions into Israel early on Saturday. Travel is impossible due to the closure of all border crossings and Lod Airport for the Israel-Palestine war. Given the rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground, the Palestine Football Association has confirmed that no matches would be played this week.
Palestinian resistance forces in Gaza, commanded mostly by Hamas, announced a full-scale military incursion into the communities on Saturday morning. It even includes settlements near the Gaza-Israel border barrier.
The incident represented an unprecedented penetration into Israel by an undetermined number of Hamas fighters infiltrating from Gaza. It is the most severe blow to Israel in the confrontation with the Palestinians. Since the Second Intifada’s suicide bombs two decades ago.
The Israeli military claimed their retaliatory attacks on Gaza on Sunday hit 426 targets, demolishing residential homes in massive explosions. This comprised a 14-story skyscraper in downtown Gaza City that housed dozens of flats as well as Hamas offices.
The Merdeka Cup 2023 will feature four teams, with Palestine taking against Tajikistan in the opening game. Originally, Lebanon was slated to play Palestine, but the squad withdrew. Palestine will be the top seed in the league, ranked 96th in the current FIFA football rankings, followed by India (102nd), Tajikistan (110th), and Malaysia (136th).
The Merdeka Cup, also known as Pestabola Merdeka, began in 1957 as a friendly international football event to commemorate the country’s independence day. The competition, on the other hand, was last staged in 2013 and is making a ten-year comeback.
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