After the major attack by the Islamist Hamas, international sport in Israel has come to a standstill. German teams are also affected.
The international matches for German handball players and U21 footballers were canceled. Meanwhile, German sports stood by Israel and condemned the violent attacks that began on Saturday (October 7th, 2023). “There is no justification for the killings and brutal violence against the civilian population”wrote FC Bayern on X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his concern “the friends in Israel” out of.
The European Football Union canceled planned international matches at European level in Israel, including the away game of the German U21 team in the qualification for the 2025 European Junior Championships in Petah Tikva scheduled for October 17th. The same applies to the European Championship qualifier between Israel and Switzerland, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday. UEFA wants to further examine whether Israel’s further qualifying match against Kosovo can be played on October 15th.
Handball players not to Tel Aviv
For the German handball players, the trip to the international match in Tel Aviv on Saturday is also canceled. A catch-up date has not yet been set, as the German Handball Federation (DHB) announced on Sunday evening after consultation with the European association EHF. “In the current situation, handball is completely pushed into the background”Mark Schober, CEO of the DHB, is quoted in the statement.
A logical decision. “None of us wants to travel to Israel in the current situation, the situation doesn’t allow that. There are more important things than a handball game at the moment.”DHB captain Alina Grijseels told the portal after the violent fighting broke out “handball world” said.
Also Basketball games delay
In basketball, two European Cup games are affected. The one scheduled for Thursday Euroleaguegame between Milan and Maccabi Tel Aviv as well as the one scheduled for Wednesday Eurocup-Meetings between Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv and Vilnius have been postponed indefinitely, the organizers of the two competitions announced.
Serious attacks since Saturday
Hamas launched a surprise rocket attack on Israel from Gaza on Saturday morning. At the same time, armed Palestinians advanced into Israel by land, sea and air and attacked people in several towns near the border. In return, the Israeli Air Force bombed additional Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Two days after the attack, fighting continued Monday morning.