“We condemn in the strongest terms the attacks by the Zionist occupation army against workers at the World Central Kitchen in southern Deir al-Balah,” Hamas said in a statement carried by the Gaza-based newspaper Felesteen. “This crime confirms once again that the occupation still insists on its policy of systematic murders against defenseless civilians, international aid teams and humanitarian organizations, as part of its efforts to terrorize its workers,” Hamas accused.
Israel’s war against the Islamist group was triggered after Hamas militants attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping more than two hundred.
“The continuation of Zionist crimes demands that all free people in the world raise their voice and exert more pressure to stop the Zionist genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip. Shame will fall on all those who remain silent and negligent,” the armed wing said of Hamas.
The WCK announced today the suspension of activities in the Gaza Strip, following the death of seven humanitarian aid workers in an Israeli airstrike. “World Central Kitchen is devastated to confirm that seven members of our team were killed in Gaza in an attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),” the NGO said.
Among the victims are citizens of “Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a citizen with dual US and Canadian nationality and three Palestinians”, he said in a statement.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, WCK has participated in relief efforts by providing meals to Gaza residents.
WCK is one of two NGOs actively involved in delivering aid to Gaza by boat from Cyprus and was also involved in the construction of a temporary pier.
Founded by Spanish chef José Andrés, the NGO indicated that the team was traveling in a humanitarian caravan made up of “two armored cars with the WCK logo and a light vehicle” at the time of the attack.
“Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli army, the caravan was hit as it left the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid transported to Gaza by sea,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted today that the Israeli army “unintentionally” killed the seven aid workers.
“Unfortunately, on the last day there was a tragic case in which our forces unintentionally targeted innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said, reiterating that the incident will be the subject of a thorough investigation and stating that such things “happen in war.”
