Who were the World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in the Gaza strike?

He sent them to her and she put hearts on them. A few hours later she died.

Francome, 43, was one of seven WCK employees the nonprofit group said were killed in an Israeli military offensive in Gaza on Monday. The attack on the organization founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres drew international condemnation. Warnings of impending famine in the besieged Gaza Strip and mounting pressure on Israel over the high death toll of Palestinian civilians have forced WCK and at least one other group to suspend aid operations. ing.

Others killed included dual U.S. and Canadian citizens, at least one Palestinian, and Polish and British nationals, according to WCK. The team said it was moving through the Palestinian enclave in vehicles, including two armored vehicles with the World Central Kitchen logo, and that its movements were coordinated with the Israeli military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent reference to the attack, said Israeli forces “unintentionally attacked innocent people” and said Israel would thoroughly investigate the “tragic incident”. .

Phelps, who left WCK in 2021, remembered Francom as someone who could make lifelong friends even in the most dire of circumstances. “You knew when Zomi was in the room,” he said. “She loved to laugh and she loved to have a good time.”

The two met in 2018 after a volcanic eruption in Guatemala. After leaving his job at an Australian bank, Francom traveled to Central America and took classes online. She started helping with her food aid at WCK. Her work has taken her all over the world, from Paradise, California to Egypt and Turkey. “She bonded with all the communities she worked in,” Phelps said.

Their last mission together was in Haiti in 2021. “She was riding around on the back of her motorcycle delivering her food,” Phelps recalled. “Her commitment to the people we serve and her willingness to go the extra mile was really special and she had a great attitude.”

That attitude took her to Gaza. She said Phelps sent her a message on WhatsApp asking how she was feeling, to which she replied: “I’m getting used to drones, but the thud still makes me sick to my stomach.”

Phelps said her death will shock the people she met around the world. “She had her zest for life and her heart of service,” he added. “People will remember her.”

Australian authorities condemned the attack and said they had contacted Israeli authorities to investigate. “We expect full responsibility for these deaths to be taken,” the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Marwan al-Hams, director of Gaza’s Al-Najjar Hospital, said the facility had received the bodies of seven staff members. Six of them were “Western nationals” and one was Palestinian, identified as Seif Issam Abu Taha.

Yousef Shareef said Abu Taha, 26, was his cousin who worked for the WCK team in Gaza, and his death was a “huge loss” and shock for his family. “He was a friendly, nice guy and he was always doing good and supporting people in need,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: british government The country is “working urgently” to verify reports that its nationals have been killed and will provide support to their families. He called the attack “extremely painful” and called on Israel to “provide a full and transparent explanation of what happened.””

Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that one Polish citizen had been killed, and said: “We express our deepest condolences to the families of the volunteers providing aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”Ministry Said He opposed the “ignorance of international humanitarian law.”

The mayor of the Polish city of Przemysl identified the victim as Damian Sobol, a 35-year-old aid volunteer who was killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Mayor Wojciech Bakun wrote: “There are no words to describe the feelings of those who now know this wonderful young man.”

Aparna Branz, a former WCK volunteer, said she met Sobol while doing volunteer work between Poland and Ukraine in 2022, and described Sobol as “always smiling, kind, patient, and always ready to help.” But I’m ready to help.”

“He was one of the bright lights during those terrible months,” Brands said. She also remembered her son as her devoted son who often talked on the phone with his mother.

The two met again while working in the aftermath of the earthquake in Morocco last year.She recalled that she was busy preparing Sobol to leave for Rafah. That was true at the time, but still, “in typical Damian fashion, he helped me with transportation, where to go, where to stay,” she said.

When they worked together in the early days of the Ukraine war, “we never talked about why we were there,” she said. “We just wanted to help.”

Frances Vinall and Heba Mahfouz contributed to this report.