Chef José Andres said Wednesday that he believes Monday's explosion in Gaza that killed seven World Central Kitchen volunteers, including a security team, was not an accident.
“They were targeting us in a non-conflict area in a conflict zone controlled by the IDF. [knew] Our team was traveling along that road with three cars,” Andres told Reuters. He believes his team was targeted “systematically, car by car.”
“This wasn't just an unfortunate situation where a bomb was dropped in the wrong place,” Andres insisted, adding that the charity was attacked by Israeli forces while traveling in two armored vehicles and another vehicle. He stated that he clearly communicated their location. . In a separate New York Times editorial published Wednesday, he wrote that the convoy had received permission from the IDF to proceed.
“This was a very clear humanitarian convoy, over a distance of 1.5 to 1.8 kilometers. There were signs on the top and on the roof, and obviously a very colorful logo that we're very proud of. ” he said, describing the distinctive WKC vehicle. “[It’s] It's very clear who we are and what we do. ”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video on Tuesday saying the airstrike was unintentional. “Unfortunately, there was a recent tragic incident in the Gaza Strip where our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants,” he said. “These things happen in war. We are conducting a thorough investigation and are in contact with the government. We will do everything we can to prevent it from happening again.”
In response to Andres' comments on Wednesday, a military spokesperson said earlier IDF Chief of Staff Helj Halevi said the attack was “not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers.” I repeated the comment.
In a Times editorial titled “Feed the People,” Andres wrote, “The seven people killed on Monday in the World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza were some of humanity's finest. They are not faceless and nameless.”
He was named to the seven victims: Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Francom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol. He named all of the victims and said they “risked everything for the most fundamental human activity: sharing food with others.”
He cited statistics from the global Integrated Food Security Tiering initiative that half of Gaza's population (1.1 million people) is facing hunger. “This food aid is so rare and so desperately needed that our team members are literally risking their lives,” he said.
As a result of the devastating airstrikes, World Central Kitchen temporarily suspended operations in Gaza. WKC also operates in Ukraine, where it came under fire from Russian military artillery in 2022.
