Seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK), a charity working to prevent famine in Gaza, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, forcing the charity to cease operations.
The workers were travelling in two armoured vehicles clearly branded with the charity’s logo when the deaths occured.
Those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.
The charity said that it been coordinating movements with Israeli military officers, but the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where members had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza via a sea route pioneered by the aid group.
Erin Gore, WCK Chief Executive, said: ‘This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.
‘I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished.’
The charity will pause its operations in the region and says it will make a decision about the future of its work.
Fears have been expressed that a maritime corridor from Cyprus to deliver desperately needed aid to beleagured Palestinians may now collapse.
José Andrés, the founder of WCK, said on X that the charity had lost several of their sisters and brothers in an IDF airstrike in Gaza.
He wrote: ‘I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people … angels … I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless … they are not nameless.’
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was ‘conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident’.
Aid agencies’ efforts to get humanitarian assistance to where it is most needed have been severely hampered by a combination of logistical obstacles, a breakdown of public order and lengthy bureaucracy imposed by Israel.
The UN said at least 576,000 people in the territory – a quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine, and pressure has been growing on Israel to increase the flow of aid.
World Central Kitchen Aid Efforts
Aid ships have carried 400 tonnes of food and supplies this week – enough for a million meals – in a shipment organised by the United Arab Emirates and WCK.
Last month another WCK vessel delivered 200 tonnes of aid in a pilot run enabled by WCK and others in Gaza who built a jetty from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli bombing during the past five months.
In a joint statement Andrés and Gore said: ‘Our maritime efforts, named Operation Safeena (meaning boat in Arabic), are completely separate and independent from the US Military initiative and other private enterprises.
‘WCK is not pushing a political agenda and we are not replacing any of the other organisations in Gaza, despite reporting and claims suggesting otherwise. WCK is a leading emergency response organisation and many of the organisations we are collaborating with have been in Gaza for decades.’
The latest Gaza Health Ministry figures say 32,845 people have been killed and 75,392 wounded since the conflict began.