An Israeli attack killed seven aid workers on Monday, many of them, foreigners, who delivered food aid in the besieged Gaza Strip, denounced the organization of the Spanish-American chef José Andrés, for whom they worked.
The entity stopped operating there on Tuesday, amid strong international condemnation and Israel’s promise to launch an independent investigation.
“World Central Kitchen is shocked to confirm that seven members of our team were killed in an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) attack in Gaza,” the NGO said in a statement.
“I am heartbroken and mourning the families, friends and the entire WCK family,” expressed José Andrés on the X social network.
Your organization announced it “interrupts operations” in Gaza after the deaths of its workers, who came “from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, one with dual nationality of the United States and Canada, and Palestine.”
One of the victims of the attack that hit the NGO World Central Kitchen was transferred this Tuesday by ambulance to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip. Photo: APThe Ministry of Health of the Hamas-controlled territory had previously reported that Israeli forces They bombed an organization vehicle and who killed the foreign workers and the Palestinian driver.
World Central Kitchen is one of two NGOs tasked with providing aid to Gaza on ships coming from Cyprus and supports the construction of a temporary pier in the Strip.
Israel promises to investigate
The Israeli army promised to open an investigation to “further examine this serious incident”.
Australia denounced a “completely unacceptable” act, Spain, the United Kingdom and Poland They asked for explanations from what happened.
China said it was “shocked” by the attack on the European Union (EU) diplomatic chief and called for an investigation to be conducted “as soon as possible”.
“We are heartbroken and deeply concerned by the attack,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson wrote on X.
Palestinian rescue teams remove a victim from under rubble after an Israeli shelling in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Photo: REUTERS The Palestinian territory is experiencing a serious humanitarian situation after six months of war, with its 2.4 million inhabitants at risk of famine, according to the UN.
With no real prospect of respite, fighting continues to rage in Gaza, which remains under a near-total blockade that makes the distribution of humanitarian aid difficult.
The conflict has also fueled regional tensions in countries such as Syria, where eleven people, including seven Revolutionary Guards, died in a bombing of an Iranian embassy annex.
Pickup from Al Shifa hospital
In the Strip, Israel announced the withdrawal of its troops from Al Shifa hospital after two weeks of activity in which they killed around 200 fighters.
A spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency reported 300 deaths in the Israeli operation.
Images taken by an AFP journalist after the Israeli withdrawal showed the hospital reduced to a field of rubble and ruins.
Near the compound, doctors and civilians reported that more than 20 bodies had been recovered, some of them crushed by military vehicles during the retreat.
A van of the NGO World Central Kitchen, attacked by Israeli forces in Gaza. Photo: AFP “The tanks passed over the bodies,” said a witness who declined to give his name.
Meanwhile, according to Hamas, military operations continued in the Nasser and Al Amal hospital sectors in Khan Younis, in the south.
The war in Gaza erupted on October 7 after a ferocious and unprecedented attack by Hamas militants in Israel that left 1,160 dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli data. Among the dead were more than 300 soldiers.
The Islamic commandos also took around 250 hostages. According to Israel, around 130 remain in Gaza, of which 34 are dead.
In retaliation, Israel has launched an offensive to “annihilate” the ultra-Islamic extremist group which has so far caused 32,916 deaths, mostly women, adolescents and children, according to the latest budget from the Palestinian movement’s Ministry of Health.
Negotiations paralyzed
Ceasefire negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States are not bearing fruit the two sides blame each other for the stalemate.
A senior Hamas official questioned the possibility of making progress in the talks due to major differences between the two sides.
The group apologized for the first time to Gazans on Monday for the difficulties of the conflict, but reaffirmed its fight to achieve “victory and freedom” for Palestinians.
The goal of the ceasefire is to allow for the release of Israeli hostages and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It is also trying to prevent an Israeli ground attack on the city of Rafah, in the far south of Gaza, where 1.5 million people are crowded.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.