PALESTINIAN AID WORKER KILLED IN ISRAELI AIR STRIKE IN GAZA CITY

Mohammed al-Wahidi, a Palestinian aid worker, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Tuesday. An Israeli missile struck the taxi he was travelling in through the Sabra neighbourhood. Three other people died in the strike, including two brothers aged eight and ten who were passing by and another man. The Israeli military said it had struck a Hamas operative and stated it was aware of claims that uninvolved individuals were killed in the strike.

Al-Wahidi, 65, was an English teacher before the conflict but became a senior official with the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza, an Egypt-backed organisation involved in humanitarian relief efforts during the war between Israel and Hamas. For more than two-and-a-half years he coordinated emergency food assistance, oversaw the establishment of displacement camps and worked to deliver aid to affected communities. Volunteers who worked alongside him reported that he regularly remained in the field at aid distribution points, speaking directly with displaced families rather than directing operations from an office. In recent weeks, al-Wahidi helped organise public screenings of World Cup matches in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and the al-Mawasi area, an initiative described as offering families and children brief respite from the conflict.

Following his death, social media platforms were flooded with photographs and videos documenting his humanitarian work, alongside hundreds of messages of condolence from people who said they had encountered him during aid distributions or in displacement camps. Crowds of Gazans took to the streets on Wednesday for his funeral. Videos of children and families gathering around screens to watch World Cup matches among destroyed buildings had spread widely online before his death, offering rare scenes of celebration during the conflict.