Gaza sports community pledges to continue legacy of killed goalkeeper
Key takeaways
- Saleem al-Ashqar was killed by Israeli fire while seeking cooking gas, joining more than 1,000 slain Palestinian athletes.
- His death is the latest devastating blow for the Palestinian athletic community, with about 1,009 members killed since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began, the official Palestinian Football Association (PFA) reported.
- Al-Ashqar is among 567 Palestinians to be killed by Israel in the football sector alone since October 7, 2023, when the war on Gaza began.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Saleem al-Ashqar was killed by Israeli fire while seeking cooking gas, joining more than 1,000 slain Palestinian athletes.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Saleem Khader al-Ashqar, 32, a Palestinian football goalkeeper for Khadamat Khan Younis, who was killed by the Israeli military in al-Qarara on Monday. Recently married and expecting his first child, al-Ashqar is among hundreds of athletes killed in the ongoing war [Palestinian Football Association]By Mohammad MansourPublished On 3 Jul 20263 Jul 2026Saleem Khader al-Ashqar, an established 32-year-old Palestinian goalkeeper, stepped out of his home last Monday in search of cooking gas following a request from his pregnant wife. He never returned. Al-Ashqar was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the town of al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, ending a life dedicated to football and family.
His death is the latest devastating blow for the Palestinian athletic community, with about 1,009 members killed since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began, the official Palestinian Football Association (PFA) reported.