World Central Kitchen has announced the resumption of its operations in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. This decision comes nearly a month after seven of its aid workers were tragically killed by Israeli airstrikes while on a mission to deliver food to desperate Palestinian civilians in the besieged territory. Erin Gore, the charity’s chief executive, emphasized the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, stating that the organization is restarting its work there with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.
Gore highlighted the organization's significant impact in Gaza, having distributed more than 43 million meals to date, with plans to deliver millions more. She stressed that food is a universal right and described their work in Gaza as the most life-saving mission in the organization's 14-year history. WCK has assembled a local team to continue their mission and reiterated their demand for an independent probe into the killings of their aid workers.
While the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a "grave mistake," and have claimed to have changed their rules of operation, Gore stated that WCK continues to seek answers and advocate for change to better protect NGO workers serving in humanitarian crises. The organization demands an impartial and international investigation into the incident.
The convoy carrying the aid workers was attacked while traveling in a deconflicted zone after unloading over 100 tons of food aid to the Deir al-Balah warehouse on April 1. The incident sparked outrage in the U.S., with President Joe Biden expressing his outrage and heartbreak.
Following an internal investigation, Israel’s military attributed the attack to a serious failure due to mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to Standard Operating Procedures.
Despite the risks involved for its workers and civilians, WCK faced a tough decision between indefinitely ceasing its operations in Gaza, which could have a lifesaving impact on starving Palestinians, or continuing its mission of providing food during the toughest times. The charity ultimately decided to keep feeding people, committing to serving up to 8 million meals with 276 trucks ready to enter the territory through the Rafah crossing. Additionally, they are exploring more food delivery options through the Ashdod Port and are constructing a third high-production kitchen in southern Gaza named after one of the workers killed in the attack.
The ongoing conflict, now in its seventh month, has resulted in over 34,488 Palestinian deaths, according to local officials.
An internal State Department memo, obtained by Reuters, revealed that Israel has been blocking U.S. aid from entering Gaza, which breaches a U.S. directive. This action by Israeli officials is reportedly driven by concerns that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for some of its leaders.
A temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. Hamas is refusing to enter into a deal to hand back hostages still in its custody following an attack on October 7, in which the militant group killed 1,200 Israelis and took over 250 hostages, unless Israel agrees to end the conflict.