The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed a foreign team with its warplanes in Gaza, killing 7 workers of the World Central Kitchen Organisation (an international charity).
WCK paused its humanitarian aid work in Gaza, after 7 of its employees were killed in an Israeli attack that targeted their convoy as it was leaving Deir Al-Balah in the centre of the Strip.
“World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work so”, WCK announced in a statement.
World Central Kitchen is “devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza”, although “the WCK team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle.”
The killing took place despite prior coordination with the occupation on delivering this aid as WCK confirmed that “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.”
WCK confirmed that the seven killed are from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.
“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF”, said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore.
“The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” she added.
WCK, a US based NGO, and the Spanish “Open Arms” association, organised humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza, which were sent via two ships from Cyprus on March 12 and 30.
Since October 7, 2024, the Israeli occupation has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip with American support, which has left tens of thousands of civilian killed, most of whom are children and women, a humanitarian catastrophe and massive infrastructure destruction.
