He was trying to give people something to gather around
In the Sabra district of southern Gaza City, on a Tuesday evening when thousands had gathered to watch Egypt face Argentina in a World Cup knockout match, a missile struck a taxi and killed Mohamed al-Wahidi, a fifty-seven-year-old aid worker who had organized the very screening he was traveling to attend. Three others died nearby — two young brothers walking home from football, and a man whose lungs were pierced by shrapnel through a wall. The Israeli military said al-Wahidi was not the intended target, that a Hamas operative had been the aim, and that the incident was under review. It is a story as old as war itself: the gap between the target and the dead, and the lives that fill that gap.
- A missile struck a taxi in Gaza City on Tuesday evening, killing a beloved aid worker who had spent months organizing World Cup screenings to give people moments of relief amid relentless conflict.
- Two brothers, aged eight and ten, were walking home from playing football when the same strike killed them; a thirty-year-old man died in a hospital after shrapnel tore through a wall and into his lungs.
- The Israeli military insists the strike was aimed at a Hamas military operative, not the aid worker, and has placed the incident under review — but offered no confirmation that the intended target was killed.
- The strike falls within a ceasefire framework declared in October that has held only partially: more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed since it began, with Israel still occupying over sixty percent of Gaza.
- A UN commission reported last month that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted during and after the war — a finding that deepens the weight of two brothers who never made it home from the pitch.
Mohamed al-Wahidi had spent years working through Gaza's aid networks, organizing development projects in a place where building anything felt like resistance. In recent months he had turned to something smaller but no less meaningful: arranging screenings of World Cup matches across the territory, giving people a reason to gather, a few hours when the weight might lift.
On Tuesday evening, with Egypt about to face Argentina in a knockout match, al-Wahidi was in a taxi heading toward a screening he had organized in Tel al-Hawa. In the Sabra district, about an hour before kickoff, an Israeli missile struck the vehicle. He died inside it.
Three others were killed nearby. Brothers Fari and Hamza al-Deri, ten and eight years old, were walking home from playing football when the strike came. Ahmed Daghmush, thirty, was inside a relative's house when shrapnel tore through the wall and into his back, piercing his lungs. He reached the hospital but did not survive.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike and said it had targeted a Hamas operative in the military wing — not al-Wahidi. The incident, they said, was under review. They expressed regret for harm to uninvolved individuals but offered no confirmation that the intended target had been killed.
Al-Wahidi's cousin described him as widely loved, a gifted public speaker often called upon to address local events, known for supporting families in need. Ahmed Daghmush's cousin remembered him as kind and hardworking, someone who loved to joke — a man given no warning before the shrapnel found him.
The strike took place within a ceasefire framework declared in October, one that has held only partially. More than a thousand Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action since that ceasefire began. Israel still occupies more than sixty percent of Gaza. A UN commission reported last month that Palestinian children had been deliberately targeted during and after the war. The overall death toll since October 2023 now stands above seventy-three thousand.
Al-Wahidi had been trying to give people something to gather around. On Tuesday evening, many had turned out across Gaza City, waiting for the match to begin, when the missile came.
Mohamed al-Wahidi was fifty-seven years old and had spent years moving through Gaza's aid networks, organizing development projects, trying to build something in a place where building felt like an act of defiance. In recent months, he had taken on a different kind of work: arranging screenings of World Cup matches across the territory. It was small, but it mattered. People gathered. They watched their teams play. For a few hours, the weight lifted.
On Tuesday evening, just before Egypt was set to face Argentina in their knockout match, al-Wahidi was in a taxi heading toward a screening in Tel al-Hawa, in southern Gaza City. The Sabra district, about an hour before kickoff, was struck by an Israeli missile. The taxi was hit. Al-Wahidi died in the car.
Three others were killed nearby. Fari and Hamza al-Deri, brothers aged ten and eight, were walking home from playing football when the strike came. Ahmed Daghmush, thirty years old, was inside a relative's house close to the blast when shrapnel tore through the wall and into his back, piercing his lungs. He made it to the hospital but died from his wounds shortly after. The taxi driver survived.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the strike. In a statement, a spokesperson said the missile had been aimed at a Hamas operative in the military wing, not at al-Wahidi. The incident, they said, was under review. They regretted any harm to uninvolved individuals and said they took feasible measures to prevent such harm. They offered no further details about whether the intended target had been killed.
Al-Wahidi's cousin, Abd Alkhaleq al-Wahidi, was at a family gathering when the explosion sounded. When he arrived at the scene, medical crews were already moving bodies. He described his relative as widely loved, someone with a gift for public speaking who was often asked to address local events. He was known for helping people, for supporting families in need. "The first moments after learning of Mohamed's death were extremely difficult," his cousin said.
Ashour, Ahmed Daghmush's cousin, remembered him as kind and respectful, someone who worked hard to provide for his family, who loved joking and laughing. The shrapnel had given him no warning. At first he didn't realize how badly he was hurt.
The strike occurred within a ceasefire framework that had been in place since October. Yet the framework had held only partially. More than a thousand Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action since that ceasefire was declared, with nearly thirty-five hundred wounded. The Israeli army still directly occupies more than sixty percent of Gaza. No significant reconstruction has been permitted. Schools and hospitals remain in ruins. A UN commission of inquiry reported last month that Palestinian children had been deliberately targeted and killed by Israel during the war and in the period after the ceasefire began. The overall Palestinian death toll since October 2023 stands above seventy-three thousand.
Al-Wahidi had been trying to give people something to gather around. On Tuesday evening, many in Gaza City had turned out in large numbers to support Egypt. They were waiting for the match to begin when the missile came.
Citas Notables
He was widely loved and had a strong presence at family and community gatherings. He was known for his public speaking skills and was often chosen to speak at local events.— Abd Alkhaleq al-Wahidi, al-Wahidi's cousin
He was a kind and respectful young man who worked hard to provide for his family. He loved joking and laughing with everyone.— Ashour, Ahmed Daghmush's cousin
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why was an aid worker organizing World Cup screenings in the first place? What made that necessary?
Because people needed something. The ceasefire was barely holding—strikes continued, aid was restricted, the infrastructure was destroyed. A few hours watching football was a way to be together without the weight pressing down quite so hard.
And the Israeli military said he wasn't the target. Do we know who was?
They said they were targeting a Hamas operative. They didn't say whether they hit him. They said the incident was under review. That's where it sits.
Four people dead from one strike. Two of them were children.
Yes. Walking home from playing football. That's the detail that stays with you—they were just moving through their neighborhood.
The cousin described al-Wahidi as someone who helped people. Does that change anything about how we understand what happened?
It changes how we understand what was lost. He wasn't a combatant. He was organizing screenings. He was known for his voice at community events. He was the kind of person a place needs to rebuild.
Over a thousand Palestinians killed since the ceasefire. That's a staggering number.
It is. And it means the ceasefire was never really a ceasefire. It was a pause that kept breaking.
What happens now?
The IDF reviews the incident. Life in Gaza continues under occupation, with restricted aid and no reconstruction. And somewhere, a family is grieving someone who was trying to give them an evening of normalcy.