Overview
- The Palestinian Football Association confirmed on Monday that 32-year-old Saleem al-Ashqar, a first-division goalkeeper for Khadamat Khan Younis, was shot and killed in the Gaza Strip.
- A relative told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that al-Ashqar was returning from work when Israeli forces opened fire northeast of Hamad City and struck him in the chest.
- The PFA said al-Ashqar's death raises its tally of Palestinian sports figures killed since October 2023 to 1,009, including 567 footballers, and noted he had married five months earlier and his wife is expecting their first child.
- Clubs, public figures and journalists issued tributes and compared the deaths to the ongoing World Cup, renewing calls for FIFA to suspend or sanction the Israel Football Association for alleged abuses.
- FIFA has not moved to suspend Israel, prompting critics to cite past FIFA suspensions of national federations and to demand clearer, faster disciplinary action linked to state conduct.