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International aid workers from World Central Kitchen, a disaster relief nonprofit that provides food for desperate Gazans, have been killed in an airstrike in Gaza, according to the group’s founder, Chef José Andres. did.
Andres said: on X An airstrike reported late Monday in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah killed “some of our sisters and brothers.” He said Israeli forces carried out the attack, but could not immediately confirm.
The Israeli military said in a statement early Tuesday that it was “conducting a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
Graphic video footage of the aftermath showed five bodies. Some wore protective gear with visible World Central Kitchen patches. In the chests of the three men were Australian, British, and Polish passports.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese identified one of the victims as Australian national and World Central Kitchen manager Zoumi Francom. “This is a tragedy that should never happen and we demand full accountability,” he told reporters.
“The truth is this is beyond any reasonable circumstances,” he said, adding that the government had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Australia.
Australia had previously called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza.
World Central Kitchen has become a key organization in the dangerous and politically fraught effort to distribute humanitarian aid to desperate Gazans. Israel has severely restricted aid reaching Gaza by land, making maritime transport an increasingly important means of delivering food to the enclave. On Saturday, a ship carrying 400 tons of food left Cyprus for Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had provided security and coordination to the group in previous operations.
On Tuesday, the military said it was “undertaking extensive efforts to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies and is working closely with the WCK in critical efforts to provide food and humanitarian supplies to the people of Gaza.” .
World Central Kitchen said: in a statement On Monday, it referred to the Israel Defense Forces and said it was “aware of reports” that its personnel had been killed “in an Israeli military attack while working in support of humanitarian food delivery operations in Gaza.” announced.
“This is a tragedy,” the group said. “Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be targeted. Ever.”
damien cave Contributed report from Sydney. Arik Toller Originally from Kansas City, Kansas Anushka Patil From New York.
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