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Rabat – A recent Israel airstrike has tragically claimed the lives of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers in Gaza, raising serious concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers in the region.
The World Central Kitchen, which announced halting its operations in Gaza following the airstrike, had coordinated its movements with the Israeli occupation forces to avoid such attacks on aid workers.
“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 said in a statement.
In response to the heightened risks faced by humanitarian workers, aid groups are urging Israeli authorities to adhere to international laws protecting their safety.
Michael Capponi, the founder of Global Empowerment Mission, expressed concern over the safety of his staff and is reconsidering plans to travel to Gaza, the New York Times reported.
The situation has left aid workers feeling endangered, with some contemplating ending their missions prematurely.
According to Juliette Touma, director of communications for UNRWA, 176 humanitarian workers have been killed since the start of the war, including those working for the United Nations body providing aid to Palestinians. In addition, several other aid groups have reported the loss of their staff members in airstrikes.
The victims from the Israeli attack hail from different nationalities, including Australia, Poland, Palestine, the UK, Canada, and a dual citizen of the US.
WCK CEO Erin Gore said that “this is not only an attack against WCK, 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. This is unforgivable.”
The office of the Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on X that he expressed his “deep sorrow” and “apoligized for the tragic deaths of the WCK team” during a call with the aid group’s Founder Jose Andres.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the killing of the aid workers as “tragic” and “unintended.”
However, an investigation by Al Jazeera’s Sanad Verification Agency revealed that the Israeli occupation army had deliberately targeted the WCK aid convoy, which were clearly marked as belonging to the aid group, with three consecutive attacks.
The investigation, which was based on open-source information, witness testimonies, and images from the site, concluded that the attacks were intentional.
