GAZA CITY – A senior Palestinian aid official was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza shortly before the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Argentina and Egypt, turning what had been planned as a community gathering to watch the game into another tragedy of the ongoing conflict.
Mohamed al-Wahidi, an official with the Egyptian government’s humanitarian relief committee operating in Gaza, was killed on Tuesday evening when a strike hit a vehicle in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood.
According to Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital, the attack also claimed the lives of three other people, including the vehicle’s driver, 33-year-old Ahmed Daghmush, and two brothers, 10-year-old Hamza al-Deri and eight-year-old Fari al-Deri.
The Israeli military said al-Wahidi was not the intended target of the strike. It stated that the operation was aimed at a Hamas militant and that authorities were investigating whether the driver of the vehicle had been the intended target. Hospital officials identified Daghmush as a taxi driver with no known affiliation to militant groups.
Al-Wahidi worked with the Egyptian government’s humanitarian relief body, which provides food, shelter and other assistance to Palestinians across the Gaza Strip. He had also been involved in organising public screenings of the Argentina-Egypt World Cup match for local residents.
Family members described al-Wahidi as a respected and compassionate figure who was well known for helping people in his community and actively participating in family and social gatherings.
Israel has continued to conduct military operations in Gaza despite a US-mediated ceasefire with Hamas that came into effect last October.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 1,084 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire began.
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