At least seven humanitarian workers from the World Central Kitchen, an NGO based in the United States, have been killed in an attack by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, according to the organization's founder and leader, Spanish chef José Andrés.
The group has lost “several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) airstrike in Gaza. “I am heartbroken and I am mourning the families and friends and the entire WCK family,” Andrés wrote in X.
«The Israeli Government must stop this indiscriminate killing. “You must stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers and stop using food as a weapon,” he continued.
The Ministry of Health in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip had announced shortly before that four World Central Kithcen workers, as well as their Palestinian driver, were killed in an Israeli attack on their vehicle.
This ministry reported the arrival of “five martyrs” at a hospital in Deir al Balah, in the center of the Strip, after “an Israeli bombing against a vehicle of the American organization World Central Kitchen.”
“It is completely unacceptable”
In addition to the Palestinian driver and translator, the victims “have British, Australian and Polish nationality and the fourth nationality is unknown,” the ministry said.
The Israeli army assured that it is reviewing the incident “at the highest level to understand the circumstances” and noted that it is working “closely with the NGO” to distribute aid to the population of Gaza.
An AFP correspondent saw five bodies and three foreign passports in the hospital. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Tuesday that one of the dead workers was Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom. «This is completely unacceptable. “Australia expects accountability for the deaths of aid workers,” Albanese lamented.
The White House said it was “heartbroken” at what happened. “We are heartbroken and deeply concerned by the attack,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson wrote in X. “Humanitarian workers must be protected when they deliver desperately needed aid, and we urge Israel to quickly investigate what happened,” she added.
Chef José Andrés's NGO participates in sending aid to Gaza through a humanitarian corridor from Cyprus and in the construction of a temporary dock in this Palestinian territory. A first ship unloaded 200 tons of supplies in mid-March under the supervision of the Israeli army. A second shipment is on its way to the Gaza Strip.
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