By Gauri Patel
Staff Writer
Seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization, were killed in Gaza after their convoy came under fire on April 2, according to The Associated Press. The disaster relief organization, founded by the Spanish chef José Andrés, said in a statement that the convoy was hit by an Israeli strike while working on food distribution efforts.
According to the organization, the convoy was struck as it left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip, where the aid workers had just unloaded over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea. The convoy, consisting of two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a third vehicle, was traveling in a deconflicted zone and coordinated its movements with the Israeli Defense Forces.
Images verified by The New York Times show that all three of the vehicles were struck in succession while traveling down the same road, with the northernmost and southernmost cars about a mile and a half apart. The vehicle in the middle had the organization’s logo printed on the roof to help identify the convoy from above, and it was left with a large hole through its roof. It remains unclear what type of munitions were used during the strike or from where they were launched.
The members who were killed were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Palestine and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, the WCK said.
In response to the strike, the WCK announced in its statement that it will be suspending all food delivery operations in Gaza and “will be making decisions about the future of our work soon.” Meanwhile, several other aid groups have halted their operations in the region as well, including Anera, an aid group that works with the WCK. The United Arab Emirates, which has been financing efforts to get food by sea to Gaza, has paused its shipments, according to Reuters.
Israel has taken responsibility for the attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing regret over the unintentional targeting of the convoy in a video statement. He added that officials will launch an investigation to ensure it does not happen again.
"Unfortunately in the past day there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said in the statement, which was translated by Reuters. "This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence."
WCK CEO Erin Gore suggested in a statement that the attack on WCK is not an isolated incident but rather a broader attack on humanitarian organizations, adding that “food is being used as a weapon of war.”
According to Reuters, the U.S. said that there is no evidence of the WCF aid workers being deliberately targeted by Israel. In a statement, President Joe Biden said that he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the attack and echoed Gore in suggesting it was not a standalone incident. He further said that Israel has not taken enough measures to protect the civilians of Gaza.
In a phone call with Netanyahu, Biden warned that there would be a change in U.S. policy with Israel, to whom it supplies arms shipments, unless “specific, concrete and measurable steps" are taken to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza, according to NPR. He emphasized the need for a ceasefire and a conclusion to hostage negotiations. Since the phone call, Israel has agreed to open the Ashdod port to allow aid to be delivered to Gaza, and also open the Erez crossing.
Officials from the U.K., Australia, Poland and Canada have also condemned the attack on the convoy and called for a full investigation.
