A British volunteer is among five people killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza, it was reported on Monday night. 

Staff from the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) – including volunteers from Poland and Australia died when their car was struck by a missile in Deir al-Balah, according to Gaza’s government media office, which is run by Hamas.

One Palestinian translator was also killed in the strike and the nationality of the fifth person is not unknown.

WCK, which provides food for Palestinians in Gaza displaced by Israel’s war with Hamas, said: “We are aware of reports that members of the World Central Kitchen team have been killed in an IDF attack while working to support our humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza.

“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER.”

Israel’s military said it is “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.

“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.”

Footage shared online appears to show the bodies of the individuals at al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah. 

Several of the deceased appear to be wearing protective clothing marked with WCK’s logo, while paramedics displays the passports of three of those killed.

The charity workers’ car was hit by an air strike shortly after after crossing from northern Gaza.

Mahmoud Thabet, a paramedic from the Palestinian Red Crescent who helped to bring the bodies to the hospital, said the group were delivering aid that had arrived earlier on a ship from Cyprus.

The Foreign Office has been asked to comment.

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister, said his country’s foreign ministry was “urgently investigating” the reports.

“I’m very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza,” he said. “My government has supported a sustainable ceasefire with call for the release of hostages, and there have been far too many innocent lives of Palestinians and Israelis lost during the Gaza Hamas conflict.”

The WCK delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need. It said last month it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza over 175 days.

Chef Jose Andres started the WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake. The organisation has since delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the US border, healthcare workers during the Covid pandemic and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

In their most recent post from Monday on X, the WCK said its teams mobilize across Gaza daily to distribute food to displaced Palestinians.

“Our 60+ kitchens in southern and central Gaza are cooking hundreds of thousands of meals each day like this mujadara, a comforting dish of rice, lentils, and caramelized onions,” it said.

Mr Andres described those who died as “several of our sisters and brothers”.

He wrote on X: “These are people... angels... I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia.

“They are not faceless... they are not nameless.”