Gaza: An Israeli airstrike killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen, including four foreigners / The NGO’s reaction: “This is unforgivable”

Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland are among seven people from celebrity chef Jose Andres’ humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, the NGO said , according to Reuters.

The workers, who included Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, were traveling in two armored cars emblazoned with the WCK logo and another vehicle, the aid organization said in a statement.

Despite coordinating movements with the Israel Defense Forces, the convoy was hit as it left its depot in Deir al-Balah after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, WCK said.

The NGO’s reaction: “This is unforgivable”

“This is not only an attack on WCK, but also an attack on humanitarian organizations that act in the worst situations, where food is used as a weapon of war,” said Erin Gore, executive director of World Central Kitchen. something is unforgivable,” the organization added.

The Israeli military said it was conducting a thorough review from the highest level to understand the circumstances of what it said was a tragic incident.

“The Israel Defense Forces are making extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and have been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” she added.

Andres, who founded WCK in 2010 when he sent cooks and food to Haiti after a major earthquake, said he was heartbroken and grieved for the families and friends of those who died.

“The Israeli government must stop these indiscriminate killings. They must stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives must be lost,” he said on social media.

The Islamist group Hamas said in a statement that the attack was aimed at terrorizing international aid agency workers, dissuading them from their missions.

World Central Kitchen is suspending its activity

“We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike that killed WCKitchen aid workers in Gaza,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote on social media. “Aid workers must be protected while are delivering desperately needed aid and we urge Israel to quickly investigate what happened,” she added.

WCK has announced that it is ceasing its operations in the region immediately and will soon make decisions regarding the future of its activities. WCK delivers food aid and prepares meals for people in need.

Last month, WCK said it served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days.

WCK was involved in the first aid shipment to Gaza via a maritime corridor via Cyprus in March. A second WCK aid shipment of 332 tons arrived in Gaza earlier this week.

Since beginning operations in 2010, the organization has delivered food to communities affected by natural disasters, to refugees at the US border, to medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to those caught up in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.