- Written by Ido Vock & Tiffany Turnbull
- bbc news
Watch: Video showing World Central Kitchen vehicles destroyed in Gaza airstrike
US President Joe Biden has condemned Israel's killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip.
He said he was “outraged and heartbroken” and accused Israel of not doing enough to protect aid workers.
Israel pledged an independent investigation after Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and Poland lost their citizens in Monday's attacks.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog apologized for the deaths.
Mr. Biden called for an immediate investigation by Israel, saying there must be “accountability” and the findings must be made public.
He said the distribution of aid to Gaza was “extremely difficult” because Israel “has not taken sufficient measures to protect aid workers who are trying to deliver desperately needed aid to civilians.” said.
Biden also accused Israel, in the strongest terms since the war began, of not doing enough to protect Palestinian civilians.
“The United States has repeatedly called on Israel to avoid conflict between military and humanitarian operations against Hamas to avoid civilian casualties,” the leader said.
Humanitarian aid to Gaza is in doubt after WCK, the main provider of aid to the Strip, has ceased operations.
Three of the aid workers killed were British nationals. Poles, Australians, Palestinians, and dual US and Canadian citizens were also killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has promised to conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. In a telephone conversation, he said the situation in Gaza was “increasingly intolerable” and called for “a thorough, transparent and independent investigation” into the aid worker's killing.
Sunak added that Israel must lift restrictions on humanitarian aid and protect civilians, according to a Downing Street statement.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had a long phone call with Netanyahu to “express Australia's anger and concern” and hoped for a “full and appropriate explanation as to why this happened.” He said there was.
- Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said he had called for an independent investigation from his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a need for “full accountability,” adding that “the killing of aid workers is completely unacceptable” by the IDF.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israeli forces attacked “innocent people” and promised an independent investigation.
“Unfortunately, in the past 24 hours, tragic incidents have occurred in the Gaza Strip where our forces unintentionally attacked innocent people,” he said.
“This is what happens in wars. We are checking every last detail and are in contact with governments. We will do everything we can to make sure this never happens again.”
WCK, founded by celebrity chef José Andres, is one of the main aid providers to Gaza. Four days ago, the company announced it had served 42 million meals in the region, dispatched more than 1,700 food trucks and shipped nearly 435,000 more meals by sea.
The charity announced it would cease operations in the area with immediate effect. “We will make decisions regarding future initiatives soon,” the statement said.
According to Kogat, the Israeli Ministry of Defense agency responsible for civilian policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, WCK is responsible for 60% of non-governmental aid flowing into the region.
A second charity, American Aid for Near East Refugees (Anera), which worked closely with WCK, also told the BBC it would freeze its operations in Gaza.
image source, world central kitchen
WCK releases photos of victims
- Lalzaumi “Zomi” Francome, Australian National
- Damian Sobol, Polish national
- Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, Palestinian
- Jacob Flickinger, American-Canadian
- John Chapman, British national
- James Henderson, British national
- James Kirby, British national
Mr. Sobol, Mr. Abu Taha and Mr. Flickinger worked on the WCK relief team led by Mr. Francom, while Mr. Chapman, Mr. Henderson and Mr. Kirby were part of the security team.
The WCK chief executive said all seven were “heroes”.
“There are countless memories of them giving their best to the world. We are reeling from the loss. It's a loss for the world,” Erin Gore said in a statement.
The charity said the aid team was struck as it was leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah where “the team was unloading more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid that it had transported to Gaza by sea route”.
The convoy consisted of three vehicles, two of which were armored and clearly displayed the charity's logo. All three were hit by bullets during the strike.
WCK said it coordinated the movement of the convoy with the IDF.
More than 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October, marking the first major incident of violence against aid workers, according to the U.S.-funded Aid Worker Safety Database. Not all of them died in the line of duty.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed in an Israeli military operation that began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
Approximately 130 of the hostages remain in captivity, and at least 34 of them are estimated to have died.
More than 32,916 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
