Gazans turned out in large numbers to pay their respects to a senior Palestinian member of Egypt's main aid organisation who set up World Cup screenings in the shattered enclave and was killed by an Israeli air strike on a taxi he was in this week.

The strike killed Mohammad al-Waheidi on the eve of the Egypt-Argentina match on Tuesday, along with three other people, including two young passers-by, siblings aged 10 and 8, in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, medics said.

Watching the matches on giant screens brought joy to thousands of football fans in the enclave, laid waste by more than two years of war.

Palestinians, like many Arabs, cheered for the Egyptian team, which performed strongly before Argentina knocked them out.

"My father worked hard to bring some entertainment to the people, to the displaced, to us and everyone who suffers in Gaza, he tried to bring them the matches close to their tents and wrecked shelters," his son Fawaz told Reuters by phone.