Citizens from Australia, Britain, and Poland were among at least seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' NGO, World Central Kitchen, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, a Gaza government media official said.
Andres, who started WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake, said he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those who died in the attack.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing,” he said on social media. “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.”
The Israeli military said it was conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what it called a tragic incident.
“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the military said.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson commented on the matter on X.
“We are heartbroken and deeply troubled… humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened,” she wrote.
In a statement, the Islamist group Hamas said the attack aimed to terrorize workers of international humanitarian agencies and deter them from pursuing their missions.We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike that that killed @WCKitchen aid workers in Gaza. Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened.
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) April 2, 2024
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of 44-year-old Australian aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and said his government had contacted Israel to demand those responsible be held accountable.
“This is a human tragedy that should never have occurred, that is completely unacceptable, and Australia will seek full and proper accountability,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Albanese said innocent civilians and those doing humanitarian work needed to be protected and reiterated his call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza along with more aid to help those suffering from “tremendous deprivation.”
The WCK delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need. It said last month it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days.We are aware of reports that members of the World Central Kitchen team have been killed in an IDF attack while working to support our humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza. This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER.
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) April 1, 2024
WCK released a video showing Frankcom at what appears to be the organization's Deir Al-Balah kitchen, with a chef demonstrating prepared ingredients.Walk through WCK’s new Field Kitchen in Deir al-Balah. Our Palestinian team here is cooking nourishing meals for families sheltering in central Gaza and people fleeing from the north. We are expanding the space to cook tens of thousands of meals daily.#ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/gphpQiYeZS
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 26, 2024
Since starting operations in 2010, the organization has delivered food to communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the U.S. border, healthcare workers during the COVID pandemic, and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Palestinian health officials said a separate Israeli air strike on a house killed six people in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians were sheltering.
As of April 1, at least 32,845 Palestinians, including over 13,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
