IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, following the World Central Kitchen incident
(קרדיט: IDF)
IDF spokesperson Read Admiral Daniel Hagari said aid workers killed in Gaza were fulfilling their vital mission to bring good to people in need.
"As a professional military committed to international law, we are committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently, he said. "I just spoke to WCK Founder, Chef Jose Anders, and expressed the deepest condolences of the IDF to the families and the entire World Central Kitchen family."
At least seven employees of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) non-governmental organization, including foreigners, were reported killed in an Israeli airstrike
Hagari spoke in a video clip released by the military to the foreign press. " We also express sincere sorrow to our allied nations who have been doing and continue to do so much to assist those in need. We have been reviewing the incident at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened, Haragi said. "We will be opening a probe to examine this serious incident further. This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again.
He said the incident would be probed the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism: an independent, professional, and expert body.
"For the last few months, the IDF has been working closely with the World Central Kitchen to assist them in fulfilling their noble mission of helping bring food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. WCK also came to help Israelis after the massacre of October 7th; they were one of the first NGOs here. The work of WCK is critical; they are on the frontlines of humanity. We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently."
European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell blamed Israel for the death of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, who were killed in an attack in Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip, and demanded an investigation into the incident. Borrell wrote on the X network that "Despite all the demands to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, we see new innocent casualties."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanches said Israel must clarify the circumstances surrounding the deaths of seven people working for Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen and earlier Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that a citizen of his country Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among the dead and demanded clarification as well.
WCK said its team was traveling in marked cars when it came under attack. "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.
The group's CEO Erin Gore said this was unforgivable. “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."