Reem Ahmad Abu Al-Auf

Their life

Reem Ahmad Abu Al-Auf, 39, was killed on May 16, 2021, when Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in Gaza City during one of the deadliest nights of bombardment in the May 2021 offensive. A civilian, she lost her life along with dozens of others, including children, women, and elderly residents, when multi-story homes on al-Wehda Street were reduced to rubble. Reem’s death was part of the wider tragedy that devastated the Abu Al-Auf and al-Qolaq families, leaving entire households erased in a single night.

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.

How they died

She was Killed by Israeli airstrikes that struck her residential building in Gaza City on May 16, 2021.

Reem Ahmad Abu Al-Auf was killed when Israeli missiles targeted her residential building in the al-Wehda Street area of Gaza City. The strike caused the building to collapse, burying families under the debris. Rescue teams later recovered her body along with those of other women and children. Human rights groups confirmed that the majority of those killed that night were civilians who had no chance to flee or find shelter. The attack contributed to one of the highest single-night death tolls of the May 2021 offensive, when more than 40 people were killed in one neighborhood.

Why we remember them

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

References & sources