World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization that provides meals in the war-torn Gaza Strip, said it had suspended its operations in the southern Palestinian city of Rafah due to “ongoing attacks” in the area.
The US-based charity was founded by renowned Spanish-American chef José Andrés to provide food to communities facing humanitarian crises and disasters.
“Israeli military operations in Rafah have forced countless families to flee again,” the charity said on social media platform X late on Tuesday.
“Due to the ongoing attacks, we have been forced to suspend operations at our main kitchen in Rafah and relocate many of our community kitchens further north.”
The charity recently resumed operations in Gaza after suspending its activities in April after three Israeli drone strikes killed seven of its staff members.
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The deaths of one Australian, three Britons, one North American, one Palestinian and one Polish national sparked global outrage over the Israeli military operation.
An internal Israeli military investigation found that the drone team made an “operational misjudgment” after spotting a Hamas suspect firing from the top of an aid truck.
Fighting in Rafah has intensified in recent weeks since Israeli forces seized the checkpoint between Gaza and Egypt on May 7 and launched a ground offensive.
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Gaza authorities said Israeli forces attacked a crowded displaced persons camp in Rafah on Sunday, killing 45 people and wounding dozens.
The Israeli military said it had opened an investigation into the attack but insisted it was “impossible” that military weapons alone could have caused the deadly blaze.
Aid agencies say it has become difficult to deliver aid to Gaza since the Rafah offensive began.
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Rick Pieperkorn, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) representative to the Palestinian territories, told AFP on Tuesday that even if medical supplies and other aid arrive in Gaza, transporting and delivering them to both the south and north remains “extremely challenging”.
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