Aid Worker Killed After Installing Giant Screen for World Cup in Gaza

Mohamed al Wahidi, the head of Egypt’s aid committee for Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike just before a World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina. He had installed a giant screen in Gaza City so hundreds of people could watch the game. Al Wahidi died in the bombing along with two children, aged 8 and 10, and the driver of the car he was in. The attack happened in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, close to where people were watching the match on Tuesday night. Witnesses told the EFE news agency that the sound of the explosion could be heard from the viewing area. The Israeli military said Al Wahidi was not the target. It stated that the strike was aimed at a Hamas fighter. “The Israel Defense Forces are aware of the report of uninvolved civilians being harmed as a result of the attack. The incident is being investigated,” the army said in a statement. Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Al Shifa Hospital, received the bodies of the four victims. He told the Associated Press that the driver had no links to any armed group. Al Wahidi was known for coordinating humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza, including food and tents. He also helped set up giant screens in several locations so that people in Gaza could experience the excitement of the World Cup and escape, even for a short time, the harsh reality of the war. His son, Fawaz, told Reuters: “My father worked hard to bring some entertainment to the people, to the displaced, to us, and to all who suffer in Gaza. He tried to bring the matches closer to their tents and destroyed shelters.” The Egyptian Aid Committee for Gaza mourned his death, describing him as “a man of social reconciliation, a well-known national and social figure who constantly strived to improve relations, serve his people, and consolidate the values of love, tolerance, and fraternity among the Palestinian people.” Al Jazeera, the only television network with a presence in Gaza, broadcast images of Al Wahidi meeting with people days before his death, as well as footage of the attack. On Wednesday, his body was wrapped in Palestinian and Egyptian flags during a funeral attended by hundreds of people, before he was buried in Gaza. The airstrike that killed Al Wahidi is part of a wave of Israeli attacks this week. On Wednesday, July 8, nine Gazans were killed, including two children aged 6 and 10. On Thursday, two more people died in a drone strike in southern Gaza, and another person was killed in the north. Since the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, which failed to end the war, Israel has killed more than 1,090 Palestinians.