Gaza aid worker behind World Cup screenings for Palestinians killed in Israeli strike, hospital boss says
A Palestinian aid worker who organized World Cup watch parties across the Gaza Strip was killed in an Israeli missile strike shortly before soccer fans gathered to watch the Egypt-Argentina game on Tuesday evening, according to a local hospital director.
Mohamed Al-Wahidi was the public relations director of the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza, which was established by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to provide humanitarian aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
Al-Wahidi had organized public screenings of FIFA World Cup matches across Gaza, drawing Palestinians of all ages to sit among rubble and on top of war-damaged buildings to watch the championship taking place in the U.S., Canada and Мексико.
Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, told The Associated Press Al-Wahidi was killed in an Israeli strike that hit a car in the city around dusk on Tuesday, right before a World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina got underway.
Selmiya said three others were killed in the attack, including the vehicle's driver, Ahmed Daghmush, 33, and two brothers, 10-year-old Hamza al-Deri and 8-year-old Fari.
" On Tuesday, the IDF struck a terrorist in Hamas' military wing while he was traveling in a vehicle in the northern Gaza Strip, " an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday. „ IDF е наясно с изказванието, че неучастващи цивилни са били засегнати вследствие на удара. Инцидентът се преразглежда. IDF съжалява за всяка нанесена щета на незамесени лица и подхваща всички вероятни ограничения за намаляване на тези вреди. “
Планираното прожектиране на играта продължи във вторник, като доста палестинци се събраха, с цел да поддържат Египет.
По време на Световното състезание треньорът на египетския тим Хосам Хасан изрази поддръжка за палестинския народ. Преди мача против Аржентина той се откъсна от разискването на задаващия се мач, с цел да насочи разгорещен апел към хората от Газа и окупирания от Израел Западен бряг.
Франция и Мароко трябваше да се изправят един против различен в четвъртфинален мач от Световната купа в четвъртък следобяд. The Egyptian organization that al-Wahidi represented didn't immediately respond to CBS News' request for a statement on his death, or plans to continue holding the screenings in Gaza.
Since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October, ongoing Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,084 people, including nine on Wednesday alone, according to local health officials.
