Israel’s war on Hamas: Indian team withdraws from World Cadet Chess Championship in Egypt

New Delhi [India]: Amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which followed rocket attacks and a ground assault by the terror group, leaving over 1,300 dead and more than 3,300 injured, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) on Friday withdrew the Indian team from the World Cadet Chess Championship, 2023, which will be held at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt from October 14 to October 23.

Egypt stands barely 613 km apart from Israel, which is currently carrying out air strikes on suspected Hamas targets in Gaza.

“Considering the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip, between Israel and Hamas, and the age of participants, after due deliberations, it was decided to withdraw the participation of the Indian team in the World Cadet Chess Championship-2023,” read a press release issued by the AICF.

The decision came after due deliberations on the safety of security of the Indian chess masters at the event. Egypt shares a maritime border with both Gaza as well as Israel.

“The All India Chess Federation took this decision considering all the aspects of safety and security of young players as Egypt shares the border with Gaza as well as Israel. Sharm el Sheikh, the host city for the championship is less than 400 KM from the Israel border and the conflict can significantly impact commercial airlines in the Middle East on short notice,” the release stated.

“The Federation took this hard decision based on force majeure and unforeseen scenarios as we give paramount importance to the safety of our players even though our players put in almost one-year training to participate in this important event,” the AICF added in its release.

On October 7, Hamas terrorists launched ‘surprise’ rocket attacks, combined with a ground assault on civilians in Israel.

Israel responded to the attacks with a counter-offensive, which has so far claimed scores of lives on the other side.

At least 1,537 Palestinians have been killed and 6,612 others injured in the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza, CNN reported citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

At least 36 people have died and more than 650 have been injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.