Israel kills Gaza elder tasked with broadcasting Egypt-Argentina game
An Israeli strike on Tuesday killed Mohamed Fawaz al-Wahidi, the public relations director for the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza.
The attack, which targeted a civilian vehicle in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighbourhood, killed two others alongside Wahidi, including a child, and left several people wounded, according to reports by the Palestinian Information Center and Arabi Post.
It came just hours before a World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina, which Wahidi's committee had been planning to screen publicly in Gaza City.
According to a spokesperson for the Egyptian Relief Committee, Wahidi also served as the director of the Office of Mukhtars and Community Elders at the committee's Gaza City headquarters.
He had been attending a neighbourhood reconciliation meeting just before the strike hit the vehicle he was in near the governorate building in Sabra.
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The committee's spokesperson described him as a respected social figure in community reconciliation “known for his tireless efforts to resolve disputes and serve his people”.
With this attack, the overall death toll from Israeli strikes across Gaza on Tuesday rose to at least seven, with 20 others injured.
Separate drone strikes were also reported in Khan Younis and northern Gaza, according to local sources who spoke to Haaretz, and medical staff at Nasser Hospital.
The Egyptian Relief Committee, established by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, coordinates aid operations in the strip, including distributing food, clearing rubble and managing camps for displaced Palestinians.
It is also well known for hosting public screenings of World Cup matches across Gaza.
The strike on the committee came amid Cairo's hosting of negotiations regarding the second phase of a regional ceasefire.
According to Haaretz, Cairo sent a strongly worded protest demanding explanations regarding the strike.
Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes in Gaza since a US-mediated ceasefire with Hamas was reached last October.
In the eight months since that ceasefire took effect, at least 1,072 Palestinians have been killed and 3,463 others wounded across Gaza.
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