7 humanitarian aid workers with World Central Kitchen killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza

02 April 2024

In response to dangerous food shortages, Spanish chef José Andrés' nonprofit World Central Kitchen has been delivering food to civilians in Gaza during the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) anti-Hamas operation. World Kitchen, in an official statement, has confirmed that seven of its aid workers have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza.

According to World Central Kitchen, "Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route."

The workers, CNN reports, include citizens of Australia, the U.K. and Poland. One of them was a Palestinian, and another World Central Kitchen worker had dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.

CNN reports, "Videos obtained by CNN show the bloodied bodies of multiple victims wearing World Central Kitchen vests following the airstrike in the central city of Deir Al-Balah. World Central Kitchen said it was pausing its operations following the deadly strike and assessing the future of its operations in Gaza."

In an April 1 post on X, formerly Twitter, World Central Kitchen founder Andres wrote, "Today @WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. 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, Indonesia."

Andres continued, "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 lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."

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