Gaza worker after World Cup tests on Palestinians killed in Israeli strike, hospital chief says

A Palestinian worker organizing World Cup parties in the Gaza Strip was killed in an Israeli strike shortly before soccer fans gathered to watch Egypt's match against Argentina on Tuesday evening, according to the director of a local hospital.

Mohamed Al-Wahidi was the director of public relations for the Egyptian Aid Committee in Gaza, which was established by Egyptian President Adel Fattah El-Sisi to provide humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Al-Wahidi organized public screenings of FIFA World Cup matches across Gaza, drawing Palestinians of all ages to live among the rubble and on top of war-damaged buildings to watch the tournament taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, told The Associated Press that Al-Wahidi was killed in an Israeli strike that hit a car in the city late Tuesday, just before the start of the World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina.

Selmiya said three others died in the attack, including the driver of the car, Ahmed Daghmush, 33, and two brothers, 10-year-old Hamza al-Deri and 8-year-old Fari.

“On Tuesday, the IDF struck a terrorist belonging to the Hamas military wing while traveling in a vehicle in the northern Gaza Strip,” a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces told CBS News on Thursday. “The IDF is aware of the claim that non-involved civilians were harmed as a result of the strike. The incident is still being reviewed. The IDF apologizes for any harm caused to non-involved civilians and is taking all possible measures to minimize this damage.”

The scheduled screening of the game went ahead on Tuesday, when many Palestinians gathered to support Egypt.

In all the World Cup games, the coach of the Egyptian team, Hossam Hassan, expressed his support for the Palestinian people. Before the game against Argentina, he broke away from discussing the upcoming game apply urgently to the people of Gaza and the Israeli-controlled West Bank.

France and Morocco were to face each other in the World Cup quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon. The Egyptian organization that represented al-Wahidi did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for a statement on his death, or whether it plans to continue holding 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.