José Andrés delivered a tearful and passionate eulogy Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral, remembering the seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in an Israeli airstrike.
“When disaster strikes, it's easy to see the darkness and never see the light,” said Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK). “But the reality is this, the light will always shine.”
That light, Andres says, is the lost World Central Kitchen team.
World Central Kitchen is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that has been providing meals on the front lines of crisis zones since 2010.
The group's April 2 statement said the seven workers were driving through a “conflict zone” on April 1 in three vehicles, two of which were World Central Kitchen's armored vehicle. It is said that it was. The statement said WCK was coordinating movements with the Israel Defense Forces.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the convoy, killing six WCJ personnel and a Palestinian driver. World Central Kitchen has since suspended operations in the area.
The IDF said the attack was unintentional and that it took full responsibility for the deaths.
“There is no excuse for these killings. There is none,” Andres said. “Even one innocent life taken is too many.”
According to WCK, the seven people who died were driving their car after dropping off 100 tons of food aid for Gaza at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah.
According to WCK, the workers were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, dual citizenship of the United States and Canada, and from Palestine.
“Food can never be a weapon of war,” Andres said. “Humanitarians can never be targets, because they are the ones who best answer the call to serve on behalf of all humanity.”
