A former Palestinian soccer player known as the "Pele of Palestinian football" was killed Wednesday while seeking aid in southern Gaza, the Palestinian Football Association said.

Suleiman al-Obeid, 41, was killed by Israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to a statement from the association.

He “was martyred after occupation forces targeted those waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday,” the group said.

Born in 1984, Al-Obeid played for several Palestinian soccer clubs and the national team, scoring more than 100 goals during his career. He was described as “one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football,” the statement said.

He was nicknamed after the famed Brazilian player, Pele, seen as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.

His death highlights the growing toll on Palestinian athletes since the start of the war in October 2023.

“With the martyrdom of Al-Obeid, the number of martyrs of the sports and scouting family rises to 662 since the start of the Israeli war of extermination,” the association said.

His killing comes as the United Nations reports more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed while trying to obtain food aid across the enclave since May.

Last month, a U.N.-backed panel said Gaza faces “the worst-case scenario of famine” as starvation-related deaths rose sharply in July.

At least 197 Palestinians, including 96 children, have died from starvation since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday.

Al-Obeid is survived by his wife and five children.