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An airstrike killed four international aid workers and a Palestinian driver in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian officials said.
The aid workers were members of the World Central Kitchen. Non-profit organization founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres According to the organization, it was shipped Over 37 million meals provided to Palestinians in Gaza Aid workers were driving from Deir al-Balah to Rafah when their convoy was hit.
A spokesman for the Gaza Press Office told a news conference that one worker was British, one Polish and one Australian. The fourth employee’s nationality was unknown as of Monday night.
World Central Kitchen director Robert Egger said the Australian killed in Monday night’s strike was Melbourne resident Zomi Francome, 44, the Associated Press reported.
“This is completely unacceptable. Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, according to AFP news agency.
Graphic photos showed the dismembered and bloody bodies of relief workers wearing World Central Kitchen T-shirts and holding passports.
Paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society who helped transport the bodies to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told The Associated Press that when the Israeli missile hit, the workers were in a three-vehicle convoy leaving northern Gaza. He said he was on board.
“Following today’s reports regarding World Central Kitchen personnel in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces is conducting a thorough investigation at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. He added that work has been underway. It is working closely with the World Central Kitchen “on this vital effort to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
“We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by this deadly attack,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrian Watson said on social media. [World Central Kitchen] Aid workers in Gaza. Humanitarian aid workers providing desperately needed aid must be protected, and we call on Israel to promptly investigate what happened. ”
World Central Kitchen (via Reuters)
World Central Kitchen said it was aware of reports of the attack. “This is a tragedy.” World Central Kitchen wrote on social media:. “Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be targeted. Never.”
in a long social media postAndres said his organization had lost “several of our compatriots to IDF airstrikes in Gaza” and urged the Israeli government to “stop killing civilians and aid workers and stop using food as a weapon.” I asked him to stop.”
“My heart breaks and I grieve for their family, friends, and our entire WCK family,” Andres wrote. “These are people… angels… I served with them in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless… They are not nameless.”
The strike occurred two days later. A convoy of three ships left a port in Cyprus. 400 tons of food and other supplies were delivered to Gaza amid fears of impending starvation there. The United States said it hoped the sea route from Cyprus would provide an alternative lifeline for northern Gaza.
world central kitchen Said The cargo bound for Gaza contained rice, pasta, flour, pulses, canned vegetables and protein – enough food to cook more than one million meals. It also included dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The United Nations and partner countries have warned that famine could soon break out in the devastated and largely isolated north of Gaza. CBS News previously reported According to the United Nations, an estimated 1.7 million people are displaced in the Gaza Strip, many without food, water, medicine or adequate shelter.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed since October 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Israel responded with air, land and sea attacks, killing around 33,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally, but it says women and children account for about two-thirds of the deaths.
—Camila Thicke and The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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