World Central Kitchen resumes operations in Gaza
World Central Kitchen is resuming its operations in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war, the charity’s chief executive announced on Sunday, nearly a month after seven of its aid workers were killed in Israeli air strikes as they helped desperate Palestinians. Were on a mission to provide food to the citizens. In the surrounded area.
Erin Gore said that, given how dire humanitarian conditions remain in Gaza, the organization is resuming its work “with the same energy, dignity and with a focus on feeding as many people as possible”. .
“To date we have distributed over 43 million meals and we look forward to distributing millions more,” Gore wrote. “Food is a universal right and our work in Gaza has been the most life-saving mission in our 14-year organizational history.”
Gore said WCK has formed a team of locals “to carry the torch forward” as he reiterated the organization’s call for an independent investigation into the killings of its aid workers.
“The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a ‘serious mistake’ and saying they have changed their rules of operation,” Gore said. “While we have no concrete assurances, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers who selflessly serve in the worst humanitarian conditions. Our demand for an impartial and international investigation remains.”
In a statement announcing the killings of its workers, WCK said the convoy was attacked while traveling through a conflict-free zone after the team unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid at a Deir al-Balah warehouse on 1 April. This news spread anger among the workers. US President Joe Biden said he was “angry and heartbroken”.
Following an internal investigation, four days after the incident, Israel’s military stated that the attack resulted from “a serious failure due to mistaken identity, errors in decision-making and an attack contrary to standard operating procedures”.
In Sunday’s announcement, Gore said the charity faced a difficult choice between indefinitely closing its operations in Gaza despite the life-saving impact it could have on starving Palestinians, or continuing to move forward despite the serious risks to its workers and civilians. Faced with a decision.
“These are the most difficult conversations and we have considered all viewpoints as we deliberated,” Gore wrote. “Ultimately, we decided that we must continue to feed, continuing our mission of providing food to people during the most difficult times.”
The charity said it is ready to serve up to 8 million meals with 276 trucks ready to enter the area through the Rafah crossing, as they are also exploring the possibility of distributing more food through the Ashdod port. WCK is also building a third high-production kitchen in southern Gaza, which will be named after one of the workers killed in the Israeli strike, in addition to the 68 community kitchens it operates in the region.
The war, which has entered its seventh month, has killed more than 34,488 Palestinians so far, according to local officials.
An internal State Department memo obtained by Reuters found that Israel is violating a US directive by withholding US aid to Gaza because Israeli officials are reportedly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for some of its leaders. Is.
Meanwhile, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is still a ways away. According to the Associated Press, Hamas is refusing to enter into an agreement to hand back hostages still in its custody following the October 7 attack, in which the terrorist group killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages. Unless Israel agrees to end it. For the ongoing struggle.