AMSTERDAM (AP) — Former Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman announced Wednesday that his wife Bartina has died after a battle with breast cancer. She was 65.
“With deep sorrow, but also with great pride and love, we say goodbye to my wonderful wife, our dearest mom and grandma,” Koeman wrote on social media, alongside a black-and-white photo of him and his wife of 41 years.
Koeman coached the Netherlands at this year's World Cup and said in June ahead of the team's opening game that he hoped Bartina would be able to skip a weekly treatment for recurring breast cancer and travel to the United States if his team reached the final.
The former Barcelona defender stepped down from the Netherlands job after the team was eliminated in the round of 32 by Morocco, citing his wife's illness as part of the reason.
"The past years have made me realize again that there are more important things than football. Football has been my life, but health is priceless. When someone you love is fighting a tough battle, your perspective changes,” Koeman wrote on his Instagram account on June 30. “My wife Bartina has supported and encouraged me every day to finish my work as a national coach despite her own illness process. That is a testimony to incredible strength.”
Koeman had two spells coaching the Netherlands team and in between coached Barcelona for the 2020-21 season. He previously coached clubs in the Netherlands, England, Portugal and Spain.
As one of the best defenders of his generation, Koeman was a key member of the Netherlands’ European Championship-winning team in 1988, and won European Cup titles with PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona.
He scored the winning goal at Wembley Stadium in 1992 when Barcelona became European champion for the first time.
“FC Barcelona and its supporters send their deepest condolences and affection to Ronald Koeman and his family for the passing of his wife, Bartina Koeman,” the Spanish club wrote on social media. “May she rest in peace.”
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
FILE - Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman arrives for a press conference ahead of the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Morocco in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)
Many people have been killed after a building housing displaced Palestinians collapsed in Gaza, and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone headed toward the holy city of Mecca.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage can be found here.
A damaged building in Gaza City housing about six displaced families collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 25. Among the dead were at least eight children and five women, according to Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry.
The toll is expected to rise as the search for victims buried in the rubble continues.
Video footage taken at the scene showed civil defense crews surveying the wreckage and using bulldozers to dig out people, including children.
The building had been partially destroyed in an Israeli strike earlier in the war. It was not immediately clear what caused it to collapse.
Such incidents have become a major hazard in Gaza, where the majority of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Dozens of bombed-out multistory structures have collapsed, particularly during winter weather.
Displaced families have often returned from tent camps to homes damaged by bombardment during the almost three years of war.
Saudi Arabia said the kingdom's defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone on Tuesday evening before it entered the airspace over Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and a focal point for followers of the faith.
The security of the holy city is “a red line,” military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said, adding that Saudi forces will not hesitate to act against “hostile and terrorist behavior.”
Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the location of the Kaaba, the black cube-shaped structure that Muslims around the world turn to five times a day when praying. Muslims believe Muhammad first received God’s revelations of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, in Mecca.
The Iran-backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen denied targeting Mecca. But the allegation drew condemnations throughout the Islamic world, including from Pakistan and the 57-country Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Palestinian civil defense crews carry a body from the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian civil defense crews carry a body from the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian civil defense crews search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian civil defense crews carry a body from the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the Israel-Hamas war, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians inspect a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
