World Central Kitchen announced it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, nearly a month after an Israeli airstrike on the enclave killed seven aid workers.
A U.S.-based nonprofit founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres suspended operations in Gaza for four weeks after a worker was killed on April 1, according to a statement. The group identified the aid workers as 25-year-old Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha. Lalzaumi (Zomi) Francome, 43 years old Australian. Damian Sobol, 35 years old from Poland. Jacob Flickinger, 33 years old, dual citizen of the United States and Canada. Members of the security team, John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, all from the UK, also died in the attack.
After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had “unintentionally attacked innocent people” in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces took full responsibility for the killings of the aid workers, saying they were the result of soldiers mistaking them for Hamas militants.
Before ceasing operations, the organization distributed more than 43 million meals in the Gaza Strip and “accounted for 62% of all international NGO aid,” WCK said in a statement.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire,” said Erin Gore, the nonprofit's chief executive officer. “We are returning to business with the same energy and dignity and are focused on feeding as many people as possible.”
WCK said in a statement that it has 276 trucks carrying around 8 million meals ready to enter Gaza via Rafah and will also send trucks to the enclave via Jordan. The organization is also continuing to explore food deliveries with support from the Spanish humanitarian organization Open Arms and the United Arab Emirates.
WCK also plans to open a third “high-production kitchen,” named Damian's Kitchen after kitchen builder Damien Sobol, who was killed in the April 1st attack.
“Damien's Kitchen is located in Mawasi and joins WCK's 68 other community kitchens in Gaza, including two other high-production kitchens in Rafah and Deir al-Balah,” the organization said.
The group continues to call for an “impartial and international investigation” into the Israeli attack that killed aid workers when their car was rammed as it left a warehouse in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah district. There is.
The charity said the team was coordinating the move with the Israeli army and traveling through a “non-conflict zone” in two armored and soft-skinned vehicles bearing the World Central Kitchen logo.
“While the IDF has publicly stated that it has taken responsibility for the attack and changed its operational rules, WCK demands answers and advocates for changes to better protect all NGO workers who are serving bravely in Gaza.” ,” the group said.
Gore, the charity's chief executive, said WCK would either “stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises in history” or that “donors, aid workers and civilians would be threatened and killed.” He said he was forced to decide whether to continue feeding the animals, even though he knew they were being harassed.
“This was a most difficult conversation to have, and we considered all viewpoints in our deliberations,” Gore said. “Ultimately, we decided we had to keep the food flowing and continued our mission to feed people during the most difficult of times.”
