Gaza mourns an aid worker killed by Israel who helped them see the World Cup | Israel-Palestine War News

The Israeli strike killed Mohammed al-Wahidi and three others on the night of the Egypt-Argentina match on Tuesday.

Palestinians in Gaza turned out in droves to pay their respects to a senior member of Egypt’s main aid organization, who set up a World Cup demonstration in the rubble and was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the taxi he was in this week.

The strike killed Mohammed al-Wahidi, also a Palestinian, that evening Argentina vs Egypt Tuesday, along with three other people, including ⁠—young passers-by, brothers aged 10 and 8, in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, the medics said.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the fourth victim was 30-year-old Ahmed Jehad Rajab Doghmosh, who was also inside the taxi. It was not immediately clear whether he was the driver or a passenger.

Al-Wahidi, 57, director of relations for the Egyptian Aid Committee in Gaza, was one of the first to help clear debris, reopen roads and build camps for displaced families.

The Egyptian committee said al-Wahidi was a respected local official who worked to resolve conflicts, feed the needy, and bring joy to the World Cup.

Watching the match on big screens brought joy to the thousands of football fans who lived in the city, which has been devastated by more than two years of Israeli war. The Palestinians, like many Arabs, cheered for the Egyptian team, which performed strongly before Argentina knocked them out of the competition.

“My father worked hard to bring entertainment to the people, to the refugees, to us, and to everyone who is suffering in Gaza; he tried to bring them matches near their tents and destroyed shelters,” his son, Fawaz, told Reuters news agency by telephone.

Two Egyptian security sources said al-Wahidi was given a job overseeing operations at his charity, which acts as the Egyptian government’s aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Sources said an Egyptian official raised the issue of al-Wahidi’s death with Israel, criticizing the ongoing killings in Gaza and hindering the committee’s work.

At Wednesday’s funeral, attended by hundreds of people, al-Wahidi’s body was wrapped in the Palestinian and Egyptian flags before being laid to rest. Neighbors and friends visited his house throughout the day to pay their respects.

Working for an Egyptian aid agency was tiring, said Fawaz, the son, but al-Wahidi used to tell his family that he wanted to help refugees because of the war.

Israel’s killing in Gaza comes despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to end the war on October 10, 2025.

Since then, while the fighting on the ground has decreased, Israel has continued to attack the area with air strikes, killing at least 1,092 Palestinians and injuring more than 3,507 during the “cease fire”, according to the Ministry of Health.

Since October 2023, the start of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, more than 73,118 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health.