Overview
- Mohamed al-Wahidi, a senior official with Egypt’s relief arm in Gaza who organised public World Cup screenings, was killed when a missile hit a car in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood on Tuesday, together with the vehicle’s driver and two children.
- The Israel Defense Forces said it had targeted a Hamas militant, insisted al-Wahidi was not the intended target and said it is investigating whether the driver was the intended aim, but it has not named the alleged militant.
- Hundreds attended al-Wahidi’s funeral where his body was wrapped in Palestinian and Egyptian flags and Egyptian officials formally protested his death to Israeli counterparts.
- Humanitarian groups and local officials say the killing highlights risks to aid workers and to relief operations that arrange food, shelter and public services in Gaza, and it has complicated ongoing ceasefire and diplomatic talks involving Egypt and Hamas.
- The strike fits a pattern of continued Israeli strikes during the US-mediated ceasefire that have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since October, which increases pressure on negotiators and could further disrupt aid delivery and local daily life.