On Monday, Israel killed seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli Defense Force drone fired three missiles at the convoy, leaving clear marks on the roofs of the vehicles. These aid workers were not the first to die in the war. At least 203 aid workers have been killed since the conflict began, according to the Aid Worker Safety Database.
However, these seven employees were employed by World Central Kitchen, a food relief nonprofit founded by celebrity Spanish chef Jose Andres. Unlike the deaths of other aid workers and the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed since October 7, their deaths made international news and received not only thoughts and prayers but also condemnation.
US President Joe Biden issued a statement saying he was “outraged and heartbroken,” calling aid workers “brave and selfless” and saying “Israel is working hard to deliver desperately needed aid.” “We are not doing enough to protect our aid workers.” Civilian. …The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to avoid conflict between military and humanitarian operations against Hamas to avoid civilian casualties. ” On Thursday, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was described as “tense and challenging,” Biden called for the first time for an “immediate ceasefire” and stressed that the humanitarian situation was unacceptable. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference on the same day that “if we don't see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in policy.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” and, like Mr. Biden, expected a thorough investigation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said their deaths were “beyond reasonable circumstances” and that Israel's excuses were “not good enough”.
The Israeli government itself appears to have realized what a grave mistake its military had made. IDF Chief of Staff Helj Halevi issued an unusual apology. “Let me be clear: the strike was not aimed at harming WCK aid workers,” he said on Wednesday. “It was a mistake that occurred following a misidentification at night during a war under extremely complex circumstances. It should not have happened.” (In a statement on Tuesday, WCK said the workers He said he was traveling through a conflict zone and was coordinating actions with the IDF.As Fred Kaplan wrote in Slate, “Besides the tragedy itself, the significance of the WCK killing is that this meant that the Israeli military (It shows that they are not paying as much attention as they should to the dissolution deal.'') And the anti-government protests in Israel, which had been growing even before the attack on WCK workers, were not only strengthened by this idea. There is a possibility that there is no. It's not just that those in power have been unable to bring back more than 100 hostages for more than six months, but also the sense that they are incapable of fighting a war successfully and achieving anything other than mass death. This is due to the increase in That feeling may be particularly acute now, as Israel has a controversial relationship with UNRWA, which is tasked with providing relief to Palestinians, but WCK has a different reputation. They also provide meals to evacuated Israelis.
Why did these seven deaths draw public outrage from the President of the United States and an apology from the Israel Defense Forces, while tens of thousands of others did not?
There are several reasons. The first is, quite simply, racism, or at least internalized prejudice. One of the seven WCK employees, Saif Issam Abu Taha, a driver and interpreter, was Palestinian, while the other six were British, Australian, Polish, and American-Canadian. . Some deaths are expected, and worse, many in the West and the wider world understand them as tragic but inevitable, or that “war is inherently It is accepted by those who say that it is destructive. Other deaths are not. There were other shocking deaths. They are understood in Washington and Jerusalem alike as events that should not have happened. (Israel has since discovered that the attack resulted from a series of mistakes that could have been avoided.) Some wonder whether Israel, or any country, can conduct an impartial investigation into its military. ) Amira Hass of Haaretz says: The gravity of the decision to fire and the headache the drone operator caused the IDF and Israel's PR efforts cannot be overstated. If the seven people who died had been Palestinians instead of Westerners like six of them, this headache would not have occurred. ”
The second is that José Andrés is a celebrity. More specifically, he is not only famous around the world, but especially in Washington, where several of his restaurants include The Bazaar, a go-to spot for Biden-era Democratic elites. It's another thing to watch the news or read articles about civilians killed in war. It's also a good idea to have the owner of a restaurant you frequent give an interview in which he says that his humanitarian workers were systematically targeted by the military armed by the regime you work for. That's another story.
And the third one is the most tragic in my opinion. These seven people were killed because they kept the Palestinians from starving to death. They were doing something they shouldn't have been doing in the first place, and they lost their lives doing it. Their deaths make it clear that not only all Palestinians in Gaza are at risk, but so are those who seek to starve them to death. After the strike, WCK suspended its operations in Gaza. two other non-governmental organizations, US Near East Refugee Aid And so was Project HOPE. It's a scary thing to try to wrap your head around. There is no one famous or fundamental enough to help the Palestinians in Gaza, much less protect the Palestinians themselves from being killed by Israel in this war.
But in the end, what matters more than whether anyone is particularly surprised by the murder of seven workers in the world's central kitchens is whether there will be meaningful changes in policy in Israel, the United States, and around the world. The Washington Post reported that the United States approved the transfer of thousands of bombs to Israel on the day of the WCK bombing. The strike is currently underway. No amount of apologies, no amount of strong words can bring back those who have been killed. And if the politics and policies surrounding the war remain the same, those statements, no matter how apologetic or strongly worded, won't say much. anything.
