Six foreign aid workers with World Central Kitchen, including a US-Canada dual citizen, were killed in an airstrike in Gaza after delivering desperately needed food to the war-torn territory, the group said Tuesday.
The six workers and their Palestinian driver were in a three-car convoy that was leaving northern Gaza when they were reportedly struck by a missile, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Mahmoud Thabet told the Associated Press.
Thabet and the food charity said an Israeli airstrike was to blame for the deaths.
The source of the missile could not be independently confirmed. Israel Defense Forces said it launched “a thorough review to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
The nonprofit workers killed included citizens of Britain, Australia and Poland, according to celebrity chef José Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen. Another one was a US-Canada dual citizen, he said.
The Australian killed was identified as Zomi Frankcom, 43, of Melbourne. She worked as a manager for World Central Kitchen, according to the country’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and was remembered by loved ones as a “hero” who died doing what she loved, according to the Guardian.
“We want full accountability for this, because this is a tragedy that should never have occurred,” Albanese said.
The others have not yet been IDed.
Graphic footage of their bodies shows that some of the workers were wearing protective gear bearing the logo of the disaster relief charity.
“Today [World Central Kitchen] lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza,” Andrés said in a statement Monday. “I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family.”
World Central Kitchen called their deaths a tragedy and said “Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER.”
Andrés slammed the Israeli government in his statement.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”
Northern Gaza is on the brink of famine as Israeli forces have barred UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in Gaza, from delivering aid to the north and other aid groups say aid delivery via trucks is too dangerous amid Israel’s relentless airstrikes.
Three ships from Cyprus carrying 400 tons of food and supplies organized by World Central Kitchen and the United Arab Emirates arrived earlier Monday.
The Israeli military helped coordinate the delivery.
Since the war began on Oct. 7 — when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians — Israel’s offensive has killed at least 32,845 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
With Post wires