Aid organization World Central Kitchen has announced it will resume operations in the Gaza Strip, less than a month after seven of its staff were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire,” CEO Erin Gore said on Sunday. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We will reopen with the same energy and dignity and focus on feeding as many people as possible.” “I'm putting it there,” he said.
Gaza residents are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, and US officials said earlier this month that famine was already occurring in parts of Gaza.
The April 1 attack on Gaza sparked international criticism of the Israeli military, which later admitted to having committed “serious violations” of military operational procedures. World Central Kitchen, which distributes meals in the affected areas, temporarily suspended operations in the affected areas as a result.
“To date we have distributed more than 43 million meals and are eager to distribute millions more. Food is a universal right and our work in Gaza It was the most life-saving mission in the organization's 14-year history,” Gore said. statement.
Israel cut off food, fuel and medicine to Gaza early in the war. Some aid has since been granted under international pressure, but aid groups say it is far from what is needed. Israel says it is not restricting aid.
Gore said World Central Kitchen has 276 trucks loaded with the equivalent of 8 million meals ready to cross the Rafah border with Egypt. The group also plans to have trucks come from Jordan, and is also considering transporting food by sea via the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Gore said the organization is in the final stages of building a third major kitchen in the Mawasi district in southern Gaza. The facility will be called “Damien's Kitchen” in honor of one of the staff members killed in the attack.
The person killed in the attack was Saifeddine “Safi” Issam Ayad Abutaha, a Palestinian. John Chapman from England. Jacob Flickinger in the United States and Canada; Australia's Lalzaumi “Zomi” Francome. British James Henderson and James Kirby. and Damian Sobol from Poland.
The group was founded in 2010 by chef Jose Andrés, who spoke at a memorial service for the seven workers at the National Cathedral in Washington on Thursday. “They were risking everything to feed people they didn't know and would never meet,” he says.
At least 224 humanitarian workers have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war that began in October, according to the United Nations Security Council, three times the number ever recorded in a single conflict in a year. It is said to be more than double that amount.
Israel apologized for the airstrike, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “deeply regrets the tragic incident.” The Israeli military said the attack violated military operational procedures and that senior military officers would be dismissed and disciplined.
“While there are no concrete guarantees, we will continue to demand answers and advocate for change, with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers who serve selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions,” Gore said of the Israeli military. Our demands for an impartial and international stance remain in place.”
President Biden met with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday. The White House said the meeting “discussed expanding humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including preparations for the opening of a new northern border beginning this week. “We emphasized the need for this to be strengthened and strengthened,” he said.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israeli officials say the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and left 133 hostages in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have died.
Becky Sullivan contributed reporting.
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