Reem Ahmad Abu Al-Auf

Reem Ahmad Abu Al-Auf was a 39-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza City. She lived in one of the densely populated residential buildings on al-Wehda Street, an area that became the epicenter of devastation on May 16, 2021, when Israeli warplanes launched massive and sustained airstrikes. That night, entire families were killed in their homes as buildings collapsed under the bombardment. Reem was among at least 43 Palestinians killed in the al-Wehda Street massacre, most of them women and children. Her name joined the long list of civilian victims, including neighbors, relatives, students, doctors, and infants who were wiped out in the attack. Reports from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights documented that Reem’s death came amid systematic destruction of residential homes and infrastructure, which human rights groups later cited as violations of international humanitarian law. Her life, like many others in Gaza, ended abruptly under the rubble of her home, leaving surviving relatives and neighbors to mourn yet another loss in the cycle of war.