A deadly Israeli airstrike in central Gaza City has killed a senior Egyptian aid official and two other civilians, including a child, drawing sharp diplomatic pushback from Cairo amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations hosted by the Egyptian capital. The Tuesday attack targeted a civilian vehicle traveling through the al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, claiming the life of Mohamed Fawaz al-Wahidi, who held dual leadership roles as public relations director for the Egyptian Relief Committee (ERC) and head of the committee’s Office of Mukhtars and Community Elders at its Gaza City headquarters, according to multiple regional news outlets including the Palestinian Information Center and Arabi Post. Two additional passengers in the vehicle — one a minor — also died in the strike, and several bystanders sustained injuries. Wounds
The timing of the attack carried unusual resonance: it unfolded mere hours before the ERC was set to host a free public screening of the World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina, a popular community event the aid organization had organized across multiple Gaza locations. Prior to the strike, Wahidi had just wrapped up work at a local neighborhood reconciliation meeting, a role he was widely recognized for across the Gaza Strip. ERC spokespeople described Wahidi as a deeply respected community figure who dedicated his career to mediating local disputes and supporting Palestinian families in need. The al-Sabra strike pushed the total death toll from Israeli strikes across all of Gaza on that Tuesday to at least seven people, with an additional 20 people injured, according to casualty tallies from local medical sources. Additional drone strikes were confirmed Tuesday in the southern city of Khan Younis and across northern Gaza, local sources told Israeli outlet Haaretz and medical teams at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. Founded under the direction of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the ERC is a key humanitarian actor in blockaded Gaza, coordinating a broad range of critical aid operations that include food distribution, rubble clearance after airstrikes, and management of displacement camps for Palestinians displaced by repeated rounds of conflict. The attack comes at a sensitive diplomatic moment: Cairo is currently hosting high-level talks aimed at securing a second phase of a regional ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Following the strike, Egyptian authorities delivered a strongly worded formal protest to Israel, demanding a full explanation for the killing of the Egyptian-affiliated aid worker, Haaretz reported. This strike is far from an isolated incident: Israel has sustained a regular campaign of airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza even after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect last October. In the eight months following the ceasefire’s implementation, at least 1,072 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,460 injured in Israeli actions across the Gaza Strip, according to aggregated casualty data. This report draws on verified on-the-ground sourcing from multiple independent regional and international news outlets covering the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Israel kills Gaza elder tasked with broadcasting Egypt-Argentina game
