DEIR ALBALA, Gaza Strip (AP) – An Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, and the charity said Tuesday that Israeli attacks have left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. The delivery of vital food aid to the United States has been halted. on the brink of starvation.
Cyprus is establish a sea route It said a ship that recently arrived to bring food to the territory was turning back with about 240 tons of undelivered aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that his army had carried out an “unintentional attack” against “innocent people in the Gaza Strip.” He said authorities were “extremely checking this matter” and “will do everything in our power to prevent something like this from happening again.”
Footage showed bodies at a hospital in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah, including one wearing a protective suit emblazoned with a charity organization's logo. Those who died included three British nationals, an Australian, a Pole, a dual American and Canadian national, and a Palestinian, according to hospital records.
A man shows bloody British, Polish and Australian passports after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Food charity World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, is key to the recently opened route, bringing hope. northern gaza The United Nations says much of the population there is on the brink of starvation and is largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces.
Andres, who has done charity work in several countries affected by war and natural disasters, including Israel after the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the current conflict, said his colleague's death was “heartbreaking.” It hurts,” he said.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.” Previously posted on Twitter.
The charity said the team was traveling in a convoy of three vehicles, including two armored vehicles, and its movement was coordinated with the Israeli army.
The military's top spokesman, Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari, said earlier that officials were “reviewing the incident at the highest levels.” He said an independent investigation would be launched “to help reduce the risk of incidents like this happening again”.
Erin Gore, the charity's CEO, said: “This is not only an attack on WCK, but also on humanitarian organizations in the most dire situations where food is used as a weapon of war.” said. This is unacceptable. ”
UNRWA, the UN's main agency in Gaza, said in its latest report that 173 of its staff have been killed in the area since the war began.
Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel in a surprise attack on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages. Israel fought back with one of the deadliest and most destructive attacks in recent history.
In the face of a growing humanitarian disaster in northern Gaza, several countries are seeking to allow more aid to flow into the Gaza Strip, where supplies only trickle in through land routes controlled by Israel. In anticipation of this, he worked to open a sea route. The United States and other countries are also airlifting aid, but humanitarian workers say such efforts are far from meeting growing needs.
On April 1, 2024, the body of a person wearing a World Central Kitchen T-shirt lies at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israel has prohibited UNRWA from delivering supplies to the north, and other aid groups say it is too dangerous to send truck convoys north because the military cannot ensure safe passage.
Three aid ships from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus arrived in the early hours of Monday, carrying around 400 tonnes of food and supplies organized by World Central Kitchen and the United Arab Emirates. pilot run last month.
Cypriot Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gosis said on Tuesday that about 100 tonnes of aid had been landed before the charity ceased operations, and the remaining 240 tonnes of aid would be transported to Cyprus.
The United States, which has provided major military and diplomatic support for Israeli attacks, has promoted sea routes and Israel. Plans to build your own floating dockconstruction is expected to take several weeks.
Displaced Palestinian Nael Elyan was in a tent about 100 meters (yards) away when he heard the explosion late Monday. “Their injuries were severe and they died soon,” he said, describing them as “heroes, martyrs and brave people.”
The bodies of the aid workers were taken to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, an Associated Press reporter at the hospital said.
The United States, Britain, Poland, and Australia, whose nationals were reportedly killed, have called on Israel to investigate and provide an explanation, and have expressed regret.
National Security Council spokesman Adrian Watson said the United States was “distressed and deeply troubled” by the attack, while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called it “deeply concerning.”
“It is essential that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work,” he wrote in X, adding that his country was working to verify reports of deaths of British nationals.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Melbourne resident Zomi Francome, 44, was among the dead. Wojciech Bakun, the mayor of the city of Przemysl in southeastern Poland, named the victim on Facebook as Damian Sobol and said he was from the city.
According to reports, at least 32,916 Palestinians have been killed in the war, about two-thirds of them women and children. Gaza Ministry of Health, that count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Palestinian militants for civilian casualties as they fight in residential areas, but the military has made little comment on individual attacks.
Two other suspected Israeli airstrikes late Monday killed at least 12 Palestinians, including five children, in the Israeli capital Rafah. vowed to expand ground operations This is despite the fact that there are approximately 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have fled fighting elsewhere.
One of the attacks hit a residential home, and the dead included a father and three children aged 7, 13 and 19, according to hospital records. Another attacked a gathering near a mosque, killing at least six people, including three children.
Aid groups have repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying it is the only way to reach people in need. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have spent months trying to broker such a moratorium and the release of hostages, but indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain stalled.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remaining 30 bodies after releasing most of the others during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. ing.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Monika Cislovska in Warsaw, Poland, Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, and Menelaos Hadjikostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed.
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