Palestinian Football Association mourns goalkeeper Saleem Al-Ashqar as conflict’s toll on athletes surpasses 1,000
The 32-year-old keeper's death underscores how the Gaza conflict continues to devastate civil society, raising questions about geopolitical risk pricing across global markets
Saleem Al-Ashqar, a 32-year-old goalkeeper for Khadamat Khan Younis, was killed by Israeli army fire in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Football Association confirmed the news this week, adding his name to a staggering and growing list of athletes lost since October 2023.
The PFA says over 1,000 Palestinian athletes have been killed since the conflict escalated nearly two years ago. That’s not a typo. One thousand athletes, from a territory roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C.
A personal tragedy compounding a collective one
Al-Ashqar had married just five months before his death. His wife was expecting their first child.
Tributes have poured in from across the football world. Chilean club Deportivo Palestino, which has deep ties to the Palestinian diaspora community in Chile, was among those honoring the goalkeeper.
The PFA has repeatedly spotlighted the conflict’s impact on Palestinian sports figures, using its platform to document what it describes as a systematic destruction of civil society infrastructure, including sports facilities, training grounds, and the athletes themselves.