People gather around the car of the US-based aid group World Central Kitchen that was hit by an Israeli strike the previous day in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 2, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
The United States is "outraged" has called for a “swift, thorough, and impartial investigation” into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and killed seven aid workers in central Gaza on Monday night.
The strike's victims included Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian employees of the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which, up until Tuesday, when it announced it was ceasing operations in the Strip, operated 68 "community kitchens," where it provided thousands of meals at a time in the war-torn territory.
WCK is a relatively new provider of aid in Gaza. The nonprofit organization, founded in 2010 by celebrity chef Jose Andres, says it has sent in more than 1,700 trucks loaded with food and cooking equipment over the last six months of war, according to a New York Times report. WCK is also credited with delivering food into northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed area where some of the Strip's most desperate populations remain and where fighting still rages.
It has garnered some attention for its work in the besieged coastal enclave, having made bold moves in its strategies for delivering food. In March, it became the first entity to deliver aid by sea to the enclave in nearly two decades by building a makeshift jetty fashioned out of rubble.
The aid workers who were killed today were returning from an aid warehouse in Deir al-Balah where they had just finished unloading another 100 tonnes of food supplies delivered to Gaza by sea. WCK says the team had coordinated their whereabouts with the Israeli army and were driving vehicles clearly marked with the organization’s logo.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that the strike was carried out by the army, calling the attack “a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip.” All throughout Tuesday, the international community has come forward to condemn the Israeli army’s actions and criticize Israel's indiscriminate bombing of the Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Paris that the US has asked Israel for "a swift, thorough and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened,” and has “impressed upon the Israelis to do more to protect innocent civilians' lives.”
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the "highest levels" are reviewing how and what happened, and that the incident will be investigated by "an independent, professional, and expert body." However no timeline was given.
The strike has been met with international condemnation among world leaders and aid groups.
Speaking alongside his French counterpart, Stephane Sejourne, Blinken said, "We should not have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at great risk.” He also called Israeli efforts to ease the distribution of aid in Gaza as “simply put — insufficient.”
Sejourne added that France also “strongly condemns” the strike. “Protecting humanitarian workers is a moral and legal imperative that everyone must adhere to. Nothing justifies such a tragedy.”
In England, the Israeli ambassador was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where its minister said he laid out the UK’s “unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals,” The Guardian reports. The country requested a “quick and transparent” investigation, to be shared with the international community, “and full accountability.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he had demanded "urgent explanations" from Israel's ambassador in Warsaw and that Poland had opened its own inquiry into the aid workers’ deaths.
"Poland does not accept the lack of compliance with international humanitarian law and of the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers," the Polish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The Polish President Andrzej Duda took to X, writing: "This tragedy should never have happened and must be explained."
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joy called the strike “absolutely unacceptable” and said Canada “expects full accountability for these killings,” and “will convey this to the Israeli government directly.”
Qatar, a vital player in negotiations between Israel and Hamas toward a cease-fire and hostage exchange, condemned the attack. Its foreign ministry released a statement saying that the “shocking crime” is in “violation of international and humanitarian laws.”
It’s unclear what “full accountability” — which many diplomats and officials are demanding from Israel — would look like, or how soon an investigation will be held.