Mohamed al-Wahidi, director of the Egyptian Committee in Gaza, was killed on 8 July in an Israeli airstrike that hit a car in the Sabra district of Gaza City, roughly an hour before Egypt's World Cup fixture against Argentina. The strike also killed two boys aged 8 and 10 and another man, according to hospital officials.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike but said al-Wahidi was not the intended target and that the operation was aimed at a member of Hamas's military wing. Al-Wahidi, 57, had been involved in organising World Cup viewing events for Gazans who have largely backed Egypt during the tournament.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military operations since an October 2024 ceasefire, bringing the overall death toll since the war began in October 2023 to over 73,000.