Seven World Central Kitchen assistance workers were killed during an Israeli Defense Forces attack in Gaza, according to the food relief organization, which has announced that it will suspend operations in the region.
“This is not only an attack against World Central Kitchen, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” Erin Gore, the company’s chief executive officer, stated. “This is unforgivable.”
World Central Kitchen said that the dead included Australian, Polish, British, and Palestinian charity workers. According to the group, one of them is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
The non-governmental organization has been active in Gaza for several months and claims to have provided more than 33 million meals since the crisis began. It operates over 60 community kitchens in Gaza with the help of about 400 Palestinians on the ground.
Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target: World Central Kitchen
A spokesman from the non-profit said in an earlier statement that they were still gathering information about the event, which occurred early Tuesday morning local time in the north.
“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target. ever,” the spokesman declared in a statement.
The IDF stated that it was conducting a “thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with World Central Kitchen in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the IDF said in a statement.
Jose Andres, WCK’s chef and founder, said he was “heartbroken” and “grieving” for the families and friends of those lost.
“Today @WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza,” he wrote on X.
He added, “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, and Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives were lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”
