Tragedy struck on Monday as seven individuals, including citizens from Australia, Britain, and Poland, who were working for celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen (WCK), lost their lives in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza.
The NGO confirmed the deaths, revealing that the workers were traveling in two armoured cars bearing the WCK logo and another vehicle.
Despite coordinating their movements with the Israeli Defence Force, the convoy was struck as it left its Deir al-Balah warehouse after unloading over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, according to WCK.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” expressed Erin Gore, CEO of World Central Kitchen. “This is unforgivable.”
The Israeli military acknowledged the incident, stating it was conducting a thorough review to understand the circumstances.
“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the military mentioned.
Jose Andres, who founded WCK in 2010 following an earthquake in Haiti, expressed his grief and called for an end to the violence. “The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing,” he asserted on social media. “It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”
In response, the Islamist group Hamas condemned the attack, stating it aimed to terrorize workers of international humanitarian agencies, deterring them from their missions.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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