An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip has killed five people, including employees of charity organization World Central Kitchen. The strike, which took place Saturday morning, occurred after Israel’s military said it targeted a World Central Kitchen worker who had been part Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza,” World Central Kitchen said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “At this time, we are working with incomplete information and are urgently seeking more details. World Central Kitchen had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7th Hamas attack.”
The organization added, “World Central Kitchen is pausing operations in Gaza at this time. Our hearts are with our colleagues and their families in this unimaginable moment.” WCK did not confirm the names of those killed.
Israeli Defense Forces shared their own statement on social media, noting, “Earlier today, the IDF struck a vehicle with a terrorist, Hazmi Kadih, who took part in invading Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre. Kadih was monitored by IDF intelligence for a while and was struck following credible information regarding his real-time location.”
They said that Kadih worked for WCK and that the charity had been asked “to clarify the issue and order an urgent examination regarding the hiring of workers who took part in the October 7 massacre and terrorist attacks against the State of Israel.”
World Central Kitchen previously paused its operations in Gaza earlier this year when seven of its aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike. The strikes targeted three vehicles marked with WCK logos.
“All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,” the group wrote in a statement at the time. “An independent investigation is the only way to determine the truth of what happened, ensure transparency and accountability for those responsible, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.”
In an interview with Reuters, WCK founder and chef José Andrés said that the WCK workers “were targeted deliberately, nonstop, until everybody was dead in this convoy.” He continued, “This was not just a bad-luck situation where ‘oops,’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place… Even if we were not in coordination with the [Israel Defense Forces], no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians.”
Israeli subsequently fired two officers it charged with having misidentified the WCK convoy. IDF admitted in a statement that “the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers.” They added, “The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.”
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