Saleem Al-Ashqar

Saleem Khader Al-Ashqar (; 1993 or 1994 – 29 June 2026) was a Palestinian footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the Gaza Strip. He was shot and killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the town of Al-Qarara in 2026.

Career Al-Ashqar played as a goalkeeper from a young age and dreamed of representing the Palestine national football team. He played club football in the Gaza Strip for , , , and finally, , Like many other sports clubs in Gaza, the club infrastructure of Khadamat Khan Younis was severely damaged by Israeli bombing.

"When club managements would sit with us to negotiate his contract, Saleem would tell them, ‘I don’t need money; I need to be a player who represents my homeland, my people, and the State of Palestine," recalled his uncle, Palestinian Football Association (PFA) referees committee member Farid Al-Ashqar. He married his wife on 29 January 2026 and was awaiting the birth of his first child at the time of his death. According to Al Jazeera, Al-Ashqar lived "a life dedicated to football and family." Al-Ashqar was struck in the abdomen but doctors were unable to stop his severe internal hemorrhaging due to the Gaza Strip healthcare collapse.

Club Deportivo Palestino, a Chilean professional football club founded by Palestinian immigrants in the 1920s, published a tribute to Al-Ashqar. The club said it was "devastated that such events continue to happen" and that it "demand[ed] justice and peace." The Communist Party of Swaziland condemned the killing as well as the "silence of the FIFA leadership".

Some sources placed his killing in the context of the attention received by the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup; Fans from countries including Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Jordan have demonstrated their support by waving Palestinian flags. The Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Osman Aşkın Bak, published a tribute on social media where he compared the 572 footballers at the World Cup with the 567 Palestinian footballers killed since October 2023.