International food charity organization 'World Central Kitchen' has stopped its operations in Gaza after the death of seven of its employees in the ongoing Israeli bombardment there.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK) issued a statement after the incident. it said it is devastated to confirm seven members of its team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza.
The WCK team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle.
The WCK statement said that despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.
Attack on humanitarian organization
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore.
The seven killed are from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.
“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” said WCK CEO Erin.
The IDF says it is “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon.
The IDF said it is “carrying out an in-depth examination at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”
World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon, said WCK spokesperson.
The media office of Hamas, which runs from Gaza, has also blamed Israel for this incident.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said that it has recovered all seven bodies from the scene. According to the society, this was a challenging operation which took several hours.
Netanyahu admits innocent people have been killed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that innocent people have been killed in Gaza in an 'unintentional' attack by the Israeli army.
In a video published in Hebrew, he is saying, "Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours, a tragic case of attack on innocent people has come to light in the Gaza Strip, in which the army has attacked innocent people."
He said, "This happens during war. We are in touch with the governments. We will take all possible steps to ensure that this does not happen again."
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that they are conducting a high-level review of the incident to find out the circumstances under which this 'tragedy' occurred.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari promised that "we will get to the bottom of this matter and share the results of our investigation in a transparent manner."
He said, "The work of World Central Kitchen is important. They go to the frontline in times of disaster."
Daniel Hagari said the IDF is working closely with World Central Kitchen to fulfill their noble mission of delivering humanitarian aid and food to the people of Gaza.
No comments:
Post a Comment