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chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen opened in Gaza on Monday, four weeks after seven of its employees were killed in an Israeli airstrike that drew worldwide condemnation and was described by Israel as “unintentional.” announced that it would resume aid activities.
The nonprofit organization founded by chef Jose Andrés has also begun construction on a new kitchen facility named after the chef. … [+]
important facts
In a news release Sunday afternoon, WCK said the organization is preparing 276 trucks carrying 8 million meals for Gaza, where the United Nations estimates some 1.1 million people are suffering from “catastrophic hunger.” He said that it has been completed.
The nonprofit said it was also “exploring” other options to expand its operations and deliver more food to Gaza, including using Israel's Ashdod port and sending trucks from neighboring Jordan. .
The organization also said it was building a new “high-production kitchen” in the town of Mawasi, which it said would be named “Damian's Kitchen” after the victim, Damian Sobol, and the celebrity chef founder. Andres reposted a video of WCK workers building a facility in southern Gaza. .
WCK operates two other “high production” facilities in Rafah and Deir Al Bala, and a further 68 community kitchens across the besieged region.
The reopening comes just three days after Andres delivered a eulogy at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., praising aid workers as “the best of humanity.”
Main background
On April 1, seven WCK personnel were killed while traveling in a convoy near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Andres said aid workers were “systematically” targeted by the IDF, which attacked three separate vehicles transporting aid workers. Israel later apologized for the attack, calling it a “grave error resulting from mistaken identification, poor decision-making, and serious failures resulting from an attack that violated standard operating procedures.” Two senior military officials were fired after the incident. However, WCK said the Israeli military “cannot credibly investigate its own failures in Gaza” and called for an independent investigation. On Sunday, Erin Gore, the nonprofit's CEO, reiterated the organization's call for an independent investigation, saying, “While there are no specific guarantees, we will continue to work with WCK and selflessly serve… We will continue to seek answers and advocate for change, with the goal of better protecting all NGO workers.” This is the worst humanitarian situation. ”
important quotes
“We have a decision to make: Either we shut down our food supply completely and our operations, which accounted for 62% of all international NGO aid, in the midst of one of the worst hunger crises in history, or we or continue to provide food, knowing that victims, aid workers and civilians have been threatened and killed,” Gore said in a statement on Sunday. “Ultimately, we decided that we must continue to feed and continue our mission of feeding people during the most difficult of times.”
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