Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that an airstrike by the Holy Land killed seven aid workers associated with the World Central Kitchen, which is a food charity that was founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres.
In a translated message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu said, “Unfortunately over the last day there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”
משתחרר מבית החולים הדסה עין כרם. תודה לרופאים על הטיפול ולכם על התפילות והתמיכה. pic.twitter.com/mhUdAXIzFY
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 2, 2024
Before his message, Netanyahu was releasing treatment in the hospital for a hernia. The Israeli prime minister noted that officials are investigating the incident and will work hard to prevent anything similar from occurring in the future.
In a statement, the World Central Kitchen said it would pause operations in the Gaza Strip following the airstrike that killed seven of its aid workers. Just the News pointed out that six of the workers were foreign nationals.
The food organization said its team worked with Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) as its convoy, which consisted of two armored cars containing the charity’s logo and a soft skin vehicle traveling in a deconflicted zone.
Just the News reported that the convoy was struck as it left a warehouse in Deir-al-Balah in central Gaza. The charity indicated that this was “where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.”
A spokesman for the IDF, Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said the “tragic” incident would be investigated by an independent agency, adding that the Israeli army has worked with the food charity in past months to deliver aid to residents in the Gaza Strip.
Of the seven killed in the incident, three were British nationals, one held American-Canadian dual citizenship, another was Australian, and the two others were Polish and Palestinian, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The IDF released a statement, saying it is “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
The World Central Kitchen said it is “pausing our operations immediately in the region” and “will be making decisions about the future of our work soon.”
