Ahmad Shukri Al-Qulaq

Their life

Ahmad Shukri Al-Qulaq was a 17-year-old boy from Gaza City, belonging to the well-known Al-Qulaq family. He grew up in a large, tightly knit household in the al-Wehda Street neighborhood. Ahmad was remembered as a caring teenager, deeply attached to his siblings and cousins, who surrounded him daily. Like many young people in Gaza, his life was shaped by the hardships of blockade, limited opportunities, and recurring wars, yet he carried the dreams of youth and a desire for a brighter future.

Born in Gaza City, Ahmad was part of the extended Al-Qulaq family, one of Gaza’s long-established families. He lived with parents, siblings, and relatives in multi-story family homes in the al-Wehda Street area, a central neighborhood in Gaza that was always bustling with activity. Ahmad was described by those who knew him as a kind, respectful boy who had just entered the threshold of adulthood. His family hoped to see him pursue his education and contribute to their household, but his life was cut short when Israeli warplanes struck residential buildings in al-Wehda Street on May 16, 2021.

That night, dozens of bombs struck the neighborhood in rapid succession, collapsing entire buildings on top of families who had taken shelter inside. Ahmad was one of seventeen members of the Al-Qulaq family, ranging in age from infants to elderly grandparents, who were killed. Among them were his cousins Adham (3), Qusay (1), Hala (13), Yara (10), Rola (6), Lana (4), and several aunts and uncles. The attack devastated t

How they died

Ahmad was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his family’s residential building on al-Wehda Street, Gaza City.

On the night of May 16, 2021, Israeli forces carried out a massive bombardment on the al-Wehda Street neighborhood of Gaza City. According to human rights reports, 54 Israeli warplanes fired 110 missiles within 20 minutes, destroying residential blocks without prior warning. Ahmad and his family were inside their home when the missiles struck. The force of the explosion collapsed the building, burying families under rubble. Civil Defense teams worked through the night to pull bodies out, eventually recovering Ahmad’s alongside many relatives. Israeli officials later claimed they were targeting underground tunnels, but investigations by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and other organizations confirmed that residential homes, not military sites, were destroyed. Ahmad’s death reflected the heavy civilian toll of the strikes, which killed 43 people on al-Wehda Street that night, most of them children and women.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Ahmad Shukri Al-Qulaq, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources