Seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen (WCK) were brutally killed today (April 2) in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. These brave and dedicated aid workers had left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, and were driving in a supposed “deconflicted zone” in vehicles that were clearly marked with the WCK logo when the strike occurred
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World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, has been an important provider of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The organization has shipped millions of meals to Palestinians in Gaza since October 7. The aid workers who lost their lives were from different countries and included a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada as well as people from Australia, Poland, and the UK. One Palestinian staffer identified as Saif Abu Taha was also killed.
The graphic photographs and videos on social media of the mangled, bloodied corpses of these aid workers, some still wearing World Central Kitchen t-shirts, are a heartbreaking testament to their selfless actions and the murderous brutality of the ongoing indiscriminate killing by the IDF in Gaza.
As Common Dreams noted the "Israeli military has repeatedly attacked aid workers with impunity in recent months, killing staffers of United Nations agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders, and other organizations."
In response to this tragedy, World Central Kitchen (WCK) expressed their grief and outrage and emphasized that humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target. José Andrés himself called on the Israeli government to “stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon” in a social media post. He mourned the loss of his colleagues, referring to them as “people…angels” he had served alongside in various locations around the world.
In the wake of the attack WCK said it would be suspending its operations in the region immediately adding to the catastrophic food situation in Gaza where Israel has been inhibiting aid and has attempted to shut down the essential work of the UNRWA.
On X British commentator Owen Jones said of the latest outrage: "Let's just be clear about what's going on. Israeli ministers, army officers and media outlets have repeatedly called for Gaza to be starved. They have agitated for its people to leave, or to die. Slaughtering aid workers to ensure famine fits in with that strategy."