In a tragic turn of events, seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian group, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. The incident has led to the suspension of the organization's operations in the region, where it has been providing vital food aid to Palestinians on the brink of starvation due to Israel's offensive.
The victims of the strike included citizens from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a U.S.-Canada dual citizen, and a Palestinian. The convoy they were traveling in was reportedly marked with the WCK logo and was in a deconflicted zone, according to the organization. Despite these precautions, the convoy was hit as it was leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where they had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the incident, stating that the country's forces had unintentionally struck the aid workers. "Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said. He assured that the incident would be thoroughly investigated and measures would be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.
The strike has led to a halt in the delivery of food aid in Gaza, with ships carrying around 240 tons of undelivered aid returning to Cyprus. The WCK, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, has been instrumental in establishing a maritime corridor to deliver food aid to the region. Since October 7, the group has shipped more than 37 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza.
The incident has sparked international outrage, with leaders from the United States, Britain, Poland, and Australia calling for an investigation into the strike. The U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson expressed deep concern over the incident, urging Israel to swiftly investigate what happened.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, expressed the military's "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims and the entire World Central Kitchen family. He assured that the IDF would conduct an in-depth investigation of the incident.
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