Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has called for the violence in the Israel-Gaza conflict to stop and for immediate humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
In a video post on social media, Salah called the explosion at the al-Ahli hospital – where hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed on Tuesday – “horrifying”, and urged leaders to come together to “prevent the further slaughter of innocent souls”.
Salah’s comments come as the Premier League will reportedly not allow Israel or Palestine flags into stadiums for Premier League matches from this weekend.
Israel has said it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but only if certain conditions are met.
“It is not always easy to speak in times like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreak and brutality,” Salah said.
He went on: “The escalations in the recent weeks is unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop. Families are being torn apart.
“What is clear now is humanitarian aid to Gaza must be allowed immediately. The people there are in terrible conditions.
“The scenes at the hospital last night were horrifying. The people of Gaza need food, water and medical supplies urgently.
“I am calling on the world leaders to come together to prevent the further slaughter of innocent souls – humanity must prevail.”
In a bid to ensure top-flight grounds are not used by supporters of either side of the escalating Middle East conflict to voice their protests, the flag of Palestine and the Star of David flag will be banned, the PA news agency has reported.
Last week, the government encouraged sports bodies in the UK to pay respects to the victims of the recent violence in Israel and the Gaza strip.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is understood to have written to various governing bodies suggesting they pay tribute in an appropriate manner at forthcoming events.
While the government has expressed its steadfast support of Israel, the Football Association (FA) opted not to light up the Wembley arch with the colours of the Israel flag for England’s friendly against Australia last Friday.
England players wore black armbands during that match and a period of silence was held before kick-off to respect “the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine”.
On Wednesday, two international footballers were suspended from their clubs after sharing “unacceptable” social media posts on the Israel-Gaza crisis.