Mohamed al‑Wahidi, who had organised screenings across the strip, was killed in an Israeli strike hours before Egypt’s controversial defeat to Argentina – the latest blow in a so‑called ceasefire that has already claimed over 1,000 lives
For one unforgettable night in this shattered enclave, the sound was not of drones or shelling, but of joy.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered last Friday on piles of broken concrete and beside makeshift tents to watch Egypt face Australia in the World Cup knockout stages. Projectors and generators had been hauled in, and children sat with Egyptian flags painted on their cheeks. When Hossam Abdelmaguid scored the decisive penalty to send the Pharaohs into the last 16, a roar rose from Khan Younis that momentarily drowned out the war.
The victory was soaked in symbolism. Head coach Hossam Hassan walked onto the pitch carrying both the Egyptian and Palestinian flags, his players prostrating in prayer around him. “May God grant them [the Palestinians] victory, may God have mercy on their martyrs,” he told reporters. “I’m dedicating this victory to the Egyptian people and Palestinian people, those kind and honourable people.” His words, broadcast across Gaza, deepened the bond between the team and the besieged enclave.
The screenings that brought that moment to life had been organised by Mohamed al‑Wahidi, 57, director of the Egyptian Committee in Gaza, who had worked for years on aid and development projects in the Palestinian territory. The World Cup matches had become a welcome diversion from the continuing misery of a so‑called ceasefire – a truce under which Israel continues near‑daily strikes, severely restricts humanitarian aid, and has seized more than 60% of the strip’s land. More than 1,000 Palestinian men, women and children have been killed since the ceasefire was declared in October, and nearly 3,500 wounded, according to local health officials.
But what began as a moment of unity ended in devastation. On Tuesday evening, about an hour before Egypt kicked off against Argentina in their last‑16 match, al‑Wahidi was killed by an Israeli missile strike. He had been in a taxi on his way to a screening in Tel al‑Hawa in southern Gaza City when the missile hit his car.
Two brothers aged eight and ten, Fari and Hamza al‑Deri, who were on their way home from playing football, were also killed, along with Ahmed Daghmush, 30, who was hit by shrapnel while inside a relative’s house near the blast.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying al‑Wahidi had not been its intended target, and that the missile had been aimed at a “terrorist in Hamas’ military wing”. A spokesperson said the incident was under review and that the IDF “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals”.
A sense of being targeted – on and off the pitch
The euphoria of Egypt’s victory over Australia had come against a backdrop of frayed nerves. Hours before that match, an incident at the team’s hotel in Dallas had left the squad deeply unsettled. Police officers pushed Egypt’s director of football, Ibrahim Hassan – the coach’s brother – and winger Trezeguet as they posed for a photograph with a fan. The Dallas Police Department said the situation was “resolved at the scene”, but the Egyptian FA called it an unprovoked act of aggression, fostering a sense among the players that they were being targeted even off the pitch.
That feeling only intensified five days later, when Egypt’s tournament ended in Atlanta with a 3‑2 defeat to Argentina, a disallowed goal that defied explanation, and an explosive allegation from the Egyptian camp that the officiating had been politically compromised.
Tuesday’s last‑16 clash at Mercedes‑Benz Stadium was poised at 2‑1 in Egypt’s favour when Mostafa Mohamed headed home what appeared to be a third, decisive goal. Egypt’s bench erupted. Then the VAR check was called.
The incident under review was a challenge by midfielder Marwan Attia on Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez – a slight tug of the shirt and a step on the foot – that had occurred almost 30 seconds before Mohamed’s header. Play had moved through multiple phases. The on‑field official had signalled no foul. Yet after a review lasting several minutes, the referee disallowed the goal and awarded a free‑kick to Argentina.
Egypt’s players were visibly shattered. The momentum swung violently.
Argentina had committed 19 fouls across the match but did not receive a yellow card until the 86th minute; Egypt ended with four cautions. Then, in the build‑up to Argentina’s third goal, Mohamed Salah appeared to be fouled in a manner similar to the Attia incident. The VAR did not intervene.
Lionel Messi converted a 78th‑minute penalty after going down under minimal contact, and Julián Álvarez scored the winner in the 84th minute. Argentina were through.
Hossam Hassan did not conceal his fury. Speaking to beIN Sports, he said: “Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”
His allegation did not emerge in a vacuum. Just 24 hours before the match, former US President Donald Trump had publicly revealed that he had personally asked FIFA to overturn the one‑game suspension of USA striker Folarin Balogun. FIFA’s disciplinary committee complied, lifting the ban in time for the hosts’ defeat to Belgium. Global players’ union FIFPRO condemned the intervention as “dangerous political interference”; the German FA said it struck “a blow to the rule of law in football”.
Professor Simon Chadwick, an expert in Afro‑Eurasian sport at Emlyon Business School in Shanghai, told Al Jazeera that the Balogun affair had eroded trust in the integrity of the tournament. “If the Trump administration is maintaining a watching brief over the tournament, it’s worth remembering: Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, is a staunch Trump supporter,” he said, noting that Hassan’s outspoken support for Palestine could have meant “some officials could have built‑in biases when making decisions.”
Football analyst Ali El Garni told Al Jazeera that the Attia challenge was “an indisputable foul”, but the critical question was “how far VAR should go back to check the legitimacy of a goal.” He added: “Would the goal have been disallowed had it been scored by Argentina? It’s unlikely.” Portugal legend José Mourinho reportedly described the result as “daylight robbery”. The Confederation of African Football demanded an “urgent explanation” from FIFA.
Aftermath: a silence in the rubble
In Gaza, the screens that had delivered so much hope only days earlier were now gone. The same communities that had cheered Egypt’s historic penalty shootout – and the sight of their coach carrying the Palestinian flag – now sat in silence, grappling with the feeling that even their brief escape from war had been taken away.
“For the first time, I’m following the World Cup with this much excitement,” Gaza resident Tamer Nahed had written on social media after Egypt’s victory over Australia. “Faces lit up with smiles, cheers filled the air, and it felt as if everyone had decided to give themselves a moment of life despite everything surrounding them.”
That moment was shattered first by the controversial defeat, and then by the news of al‑Wahidi’s death.
“We were gathered at a family event when we heard an explosion and were told that a car had been hit on al‑Maghribi Street,” al‑Wahidi’s cousin, Abd Alkhaleq al‑Wahidi, said. “The first moments after learning of Mohamed’s death were extremely difficult. 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. He was known for helping people and supporting families in need.”
A funeral procession bearing a body wrapped in the Egyptian flag made its way through the Great Omari mosque in Gaza City – a mosque filled with rubble from previous Israeli strikes.
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that the ceasefire has failed to deliver meaningful relief. A UN independent commission of enquiry said in a report last month that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed by Israel during the war, including the period after the ceasefire. The overall Palestinian death toll since Israel’s full-scale genocide started in October 2023 is now more than 73,000, including more than 20,000 children. Civilian infrastructure – including health and education services – remains in ruins, and the Israeli army still directly controls large swathes of the territory.
For Egypt, the lasting image of their World Cup was not of a goal or a flag, but of their captain, Mohamed Salah, walking into a hotel with the expression of a man who knew his team had lost more than a football match. The questions that followed him through those doors will not fade quickly.
And in Gaza, the aid worker who had brought the world’s game to a population trapped under siege was gone – killed not by the football, but by the conflict he had devoted his life to alleviating. His death, like the thousands before it, is a grim reminder that the so‑called ceasefire has done little to stop the killing, the seizure of land, or the suffocation of a people desperate for any moment of life.
