No Soccer for You: Israeli fans hold up sign as Barcelona star Lionel Messi plays in friendly match in Tel Aviv last year. Image by getty images

The start of the Israeli soccer season was delayed for the second weekend in a row on Friday following the resumption of rocket fire by Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Football Association said.

Play in the secondary Toto Cup competition, a regular precursor to the start of league action, was due to start on the weekend of July 26 but was postponed by a week, and for a second time this weekend, the Israel Football Association said.

To reduce the chance of mass casualties being caused by falling rockets, Israeli authorities have banned gatherings of more than 500 people up to 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip and of more than 1,000 between 40-80km away.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Many international sporting events in Israel have been called off, with teams involved in European club soccer competitions forced to host opponents in Cyprus, and tennis, basketball, swimming and sailing events also affected.

A month of fighting between Israeli forces and Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip had wound down on Tuesday but militants resumed rocket fire as a 72-hour ceasefire expired at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday.

Until the ceasefire ended, Gaza officials said 1,874 Palestinians, mostly civilians, had been killed. Israel said 64 of its soldiers and three civilians were killed since fighting began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount