Aid group World Central Kitchen (WCK) is to resume distributing food in Gaza, nearly a month after seven of its workers were killed in an Israeli air strike.
Staff said said it has 276 trucks with eight million meals ready to enter through the Rafah crossing.
‘Ultimately, we decided we must keep feeding,’ the charity said.
Earlier this month, WCK said a convoy leaving a warehouse in Gaza was attacked by Israel killing seven and sparking an international outcry.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) admitted was it called ‘grave mistakes’ led to the fatal strike and dismissed two senior officers over the incident.
In a statement on Sunday, WCK CEO Erin Gore said: ‘The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.’
The charity said it will also send trucks from Jordan and use the Ashdod Port, one of Israel’s three main cargo ports, as well as build a third kitchen in Gaza itself.
WCK is one of the main suppliers of desperately-needed aid into Gaza and says it has supplied more than 43 million meals in Gaza since the war started in October.
Gore added: ‘We decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times.’
The WCK statement added that a strong team of Palestinians will carry the torch forward with their work adding that their model has always been to work hand in hand with the community: Puerto Ricans feeding Puerto Ricans; Moroccans feeding Moroccans; Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians; and now, Palestinians feeding Palestinians.
‘WCK is an organization of People feeding People, everywhere’ they said. ‘The local team has been consulted and they are ready to feed millions more and do so in a way that honors the spirit and lives of our seven angels.’
Fatal Gaza Airstrike
Speaking on the fatal airstrike, the charity said it was continuing to call for an impartial and international investigation into the deaths of the aid workers, which included three Britons, a Palestinian, Australian, Pole and US-Canadian citizen.
‘While we have no concrete assurances, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers serving selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions,’ Gore said.
During four minutes on April 1st, the seven aid workers were killed when three missiles destroyed their cars one by one as they engaged in humanitarian work.
The charity’s team had been authorised by the Israeli military to help transfer aid supplies from the coast to a warehouse. The IDF said a series of mistakes and miscommunications resulted in them being mistaken for Hamas operatives and targeted.
Israel’s campaign of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza has killed 34,454 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
*Image credit header: World Central Kitchen/WCK.org
