Seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed in the Gaza Strip when their convoy was bombed on Monday night, according to the aid organization and Gazan health officials.
The disaster relief organization, founded by Spanish chef José Andrés, said the convoy was hit in an Israeli strike. In a statement following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to a “tragic case of our forces unintentionally harming innocent people.” He said that Israel is in contact with foreign governments at the stage.
Here’s what we know.
A convoy of three vehicles has just left a food warehouse.
World Central Kitchen staff were leaving a warehouse in Deir al Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip, when their convoy – two armored cars and a third vehicle – was fired upon late Monday, the organization said in a statement.
The Israeli military is aware of the aid workers’ movements, the charity said. Aid workers just unloaded more than 100 tons of food brought to Gaza by sea at the warehouse, according to the group.
Videos and photos verified by The New York Times suggest the convoy was hit multiple times. The imagery shows three wrecked white vehicles, with the northernmost and southernmost vehicles about a mile and a half apart.
The World Central Kitchen logo can be seen on items inside the charred interiors of the northernmost and southernmost cars. The car was left in the middle with a gaping hole in the roof clearly marked with the group’s logo. All three vehicles, although far apart, were on or near the Al-Rashid coastal road.
It remained unclear Tuesday morning what kind of bullets hit the vehicles and whether those explosives were launched from the ground, a warplane or a drone.
Six foreign nationals and one Palestinian were killed.
World Central Kitchen said one of those killed was a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, while the others were from Australia, Britain, Gaza and Poland. In a post with the names and ages of the victims on the group’s websiteits chief executive, Erin Gore, said “We are devastated by our loss.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese identified one of the victims as Zomi Frankcom, an Australian citizen and a senior manager at World Central Kitchen. “The tributes pouring in for Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom tell the story of a life dedicated to serving others, including her fellow Australians during natural disasters,” said Penny Wong, the foreign minister. of the country. Social media.
Damian Sobol, an aid worker from the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl, died in the attack, according to the city’s mayor, Wojciech Bakun. “There are no words to describe how the people who knew this amazing man are feeling at this moment,” he said in a post on social media.
David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, said on social media that three of the aid workers killed were British citizens. The BBC reported their names: John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby. Local British media outlets described Mr. Chapman and Mr. Henderson as a former Royal Marines who later turned to volunteer work.
Jacob Flickinger, who also died in the attack, was a 33-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Canada, according to World Central Kitchen, and worked on the group’s relief team.
Palestinian medics retrieved the bodies of the seven victims and took them to a hospital in Deir al Balah, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The bodies of the foreigners will be taken out of Gaza to Egypt, the group said.
Also killed in the attack was Saif Abutaha, a 25-year-old Gazan who worked as a driver and translator for the World Central Kitchen. Mr. Abutaha was an enthusiastic young man who worked in his father’s business and spoke good English, his sister Shadi said.
Mr. Abutaha and the rest of the World Central Kitchen workers are thrilled to have the opportunity to drop off much-needed food aid. “They are very excited, like they are going to a wedding,” said his brother. That was the last time he saw her.
Mr Cameron said on social media that it was “important that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work”. He called on Israel to “immediately investigate and provide a full, clear explanation of what happened.”
At least 196 aid workers were killed in Gaza and the West Bank between October 2023 and late March, according to Jamie McGoldrick, a senior UN relief official. “This is not an isolated incident,” he said, then added: “There is no safe place left in Gaza.”
The prime minister appeared to be responsible for the ‘unintentional’ attack.
In a video statement on Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to a “tragic case of our forces unintentionally harming innocent people in the Gaza Strip.” Mr. Netanyahu did not name World Central Kitchen in his remarks.
But an Israeli official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the strike is still under investigation, clarified that the prime minister was referring to the strike.
“This happens in war, we are fully investigating it, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything to prevent this from happening again,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal investigation, said the military had concluded it was responsible for the strike on the convoy. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military chief of staff, is expected to review the findings of a preliminary inquiry into the incident on Tuesday night, the official said.
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, whose investigation was referred to the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism, a military body tasked with investigating the accusations and looking into the events behind the scenes of the war. “We will open an investigation to examine this serious incident,” he said. “This will help us reduce the risk of such an event happening again.”
The Israeli military said the mechanism was an “independent, professional and expert body.” Human rights groups have generally been critical of the Israeli military’s ability to transparently investigate itself, charging that inquiries are often lengthy and rarely lead to indictments.
The World Central Kitchen aid ship is returning to Cyprus.
At the time of the strike, workers released 100 tons of aid from the Jennifer, a World Central Kitchen ship that left the Cypriot port of Larnaca last weekend and arrived in Gaza on Monday. Another 240 tons will be released on Tuesday, according to Theodoros Gotsis, a spokesman for the Cypriot foreign ministry.
Mr. Gotsis said the Jennifer instead left Gaza to sail back to Larnaca on Tuesday. He added that many more tons of aid were waiting in warehouses in Larnaca, but it was unclear when and if a mission to deliver them would take place.
Patrick Kingsley, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Gabby Sobelman, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Lauren Leatherby, Nader Ibrahim and Kim Severson contributed reporting to this article.
