World Central Kitchen is suspending its operations in the Gaza Strip, nearly a month after an Israeli airstrike killed seven of its staff and prompted humanitarian organizations to suspend operations in the war-torn enclave. announced that it would reopen.
The announcement came four days after World Central Kitchen honored the seven staff members who were killed in a ceremony Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
“We have a decision to make: Either we shut down food supplies 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 “We must continue to provide food despite the sacrifices made by victims, aid workers and civilians who have been threatened and killed,” the organization 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,” the organization said.
On April 1, an Israeli drone crashed into a convoy leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Bala, central Gaza, killing seven workers. Photos showed two armored trucks carrying workers bearing the World Central Kitchen (WCK) logo, and the organization said it had coordinated the convoy's movements with the Israel Defense Forces in advance. .
José Andres pays tribute to his staff in a speech at the National Cathedral
WCK founder and celebrity chef José Andres, who spoke at Thursday's ceremony, was joined by Jacob Flickinger, 33, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Lalzaumi Francom, 43, an Australian citizen, and Gaza Resident Saifeddin Abutaha, 25, paid a moving tribute to the seven workers. Damian Sobol from Poland and British nationals John Chapman (57), James Henderson (33) and James Kirby (47).
He renewed his call for an independent investigation into their deaths. “There is no excuse for these killings,” he said. “none.”
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WCK is currently preparing 276 trucks carrying 8 million meals to pass through the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, with other trucks expected to enter from Jordan, the statement said. The organization is also considering food deliveries by ships that can sail along the maritime corridor and disembark at the port of Ashdod, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the Gaza border.
The organization also plans to add a third “high-productivity” kitchen to its operations, in addition to its two existing locations in Rafah and Deli Albala, where seven employees died, the statement said. The new kitchen in Mawasi, on Gaza's south coast, will be called “Damien's Kitchen” after Sobol, one of the workers killed in the strike. WCK already maintains 68 community kitchens in Gaza.
World Central Kitchen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
WCK renews call for independent investigation into strike
The organization also reiterated Andres' call for an “impartial and international investigation” into the strike.
An IDF investigation called the attack a “grave mistake” and led to the firing of two military officials involved. Andres said internal investigations were insufficient and the IDF was unable to credibly investigate its own “failures.”
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Despite an apology from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the attack prompted President Biden to issue his harshest criticism of Israel's military operations since the start of the war on October 7.
“This is the main reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza is so difficult. “No action has been taken,” he said in a statement.
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UN official says famine is 'imminent' in Gaza
The United Nations has warned of “imminent” famine in Gaza. A report released in March found that 1.1 million Palestinians, nearly half of Gaza's population, suffer from the highest levels of hunger in the United Nations. The report said 70% of the 300,000 Palestinians living in northern Gaza face “catastrophic hunger.”
Gian Caro Siri, director of the World Food Program in Geneva, said on Wednesday that the situation in Gaza could exceed all three criteria for famine – “food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality” – in the next six weeks.
The United States is urging Israel to reach an agreement to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. In a memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, some State Department officials accused the Israeli Defense Forces of killing “humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate” and failing to thoroughly investigate or crack down on them. , raised “serious questions” about possible violations of international law by Israel. action.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is building a floating pier three miles from the coast of the Gaza Strip, which officials say will allow more humanitarian aid to enter the area. Once construction is complete in early May, it will be able to transport an initial shipment of about 90 truckloads of aid to Gaza, the Pentagon said.
David Satterfield, the US special envoy for humanitarian affairs, told reporters last Tuesday that Israel had “taken significant steps” in the past two-and-a-half weeks to approve additional aid, but that “more work remains to be done.” There's quite a bit,” he said.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Email her at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. X Follow her at @CybeleMO.
Contributed by: Reuters
