Israeli Strike Kills Hamas Operative and Three Bystanders in Gaza City Taxi

An Israeli air strike killed Mohammed al-Wahidi, a senior official with the Egyptian Relief Committee, and three other people in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Tuesday. The missile struck the taxi in which al-Wahidi was travelling. The other victims were two brothers aged eight and ten who were passing by and one unnamed man.

Al-Wahidi, 65, had worked for the Egyptian Relief Committee for more than two and a half years coordinating emergency food assistance and establishing displacement camps. Before the war he was an English teacher. In recent weeks he helped organise public screenings of World Cup matches in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and the al-Mawasi area.

He was killed hours before a scheduled screening of Egypt's last-16 match against Argentina. The Israeli military stated it had struck a Hamas operative and was aware of claims that uninvolved individuals were killed. The Egyptian Relief Committee is an Egypt-backed organisation that has delivered humanitarian relief during the war.

The Israeli military launched its campaign in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. At least 73,118 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN regards as reliable.

As of late April the UN had recorded at least 593 humanitarian workers killed in Gaza since the war began, including eight since the ceasefire 10 months ago.