Humanitarian aid organizations pull out of Gaza after airstrike
On Monday, Apr. 1, Israel Defense Forces fired three missles on an aid convoy owned by the World Central Kitchen (Wikimedia Commons).
On Monday, Apr. 1, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired three missiles on an aid convoy owned by the World Central Kitchen (WCK). The group was departing from a warehouse in Deir al Bala, located in central Gaza, where they had distributed over 100 tons of humanitarian aid. The World Central Kitchen was founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, after traveling to Haiti following an earthquake that devastated communities. Andrés founded the WCK intending to provide meals in response to humanitarian crises and listening, learning, and cooking alongside the people who have been affected by calamities.
The strike on Apr. 1 hit multiple vehicles owned by the World Central Kitchen. The seven WCK workers killed due to the attack were Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, Damian Sobol, Jacob Flickinger, John Chapman, James Henderson, and James Kirby. The victims of the strike included citizens of Poland, Palestine, Australia, Britain, and an American-Canadian dual citizen. The deaths of six foreign workers and one Palestinian have triggered an international reaction, including from several world leaders, condemning the actions of the IDF.
Erin Gore, the CEO of WCK released a statement on the organization’s website honoring the members killed in the strike, stating “These are the heroes of World Central Kitchen. These seven beautiful souls were killed by the IDF in a strike as they were returning from a full day’s mission.” She added, “Their smiles, laughter, and voices are forever embedded in our memories. And we have countless memories of them giving their best selves to the world. We are reeling from our loss. The world’s loss.”
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, released an official statement acknowledging the Israeli military involvement in the attack. “It happens in war, we are fully examining this, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again,” said Netanyahu. There has been an ongoing investigation by the IDF to discover who was responsible for the airstrike.
On Tuesday, Apr. 2, José Andrés revealed that he would be suspending WCK operations in Gaza with ships that had recently arrived with more humanitarian aid being turned back to avoid the war zone. Andrés called the Israeli strike unforgivable and condemned the IDF’s efforts to restrict humanitarian aid access in Gaza.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanded an investigation into the airstrike as well, stating, “We need a fully open, transparent, independent and rapid investigation into what happend.” Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong also released a statement on social media calling the incident “outrageous and unacceptable.” In the same statement, Wong demanded a humanitarian ceasefire.
The WCK is not the only humanitarian aid organization that has suspended operations due to the ongoing conflict. American Near East Refugee Aid, also known as Anera, an organization that has operated in Palestinian territories for over 55 years, also decided to suspend their operations as over 150 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
The WCK released another statement about the ongoing investigation on Friday, Apr. 5, declaring that “the IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza.” While the organization is demanding that an outside investigation be conducted, we await more updates on the situation.