World Central Kitchen Resumes Operations In Gaza Following Its Aid Workers' Deaths

Seven members of the charity's team were killed in Gaza earlier this month by Israeli airstrikes in what the country's military labeled a "grave mistake."

World Central Kitchen is resuming its operations in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war, the charity’s chief executive announced Sunday, nearly a month after seven of its aid workers were killed by Israeli airstrikes while they were on a mission to deliver food to desperate Palestinian civilians in the besieged territory.

Erin Gore said that, in recognition of how dire humanitarian conditions remain in Gaza, the organization is restarting its work there “with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.”

“To date we have distributed more than 43 million meals and we are eager to deliver 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 added that WCK has built a team of locals “to carry the torch forward” as she reiterated the organization’s demand for an independent probe into their aid workers’ killings.

“The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a ‘grave mistake’ and says 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 serving selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions. Our demand for an impartial and international investigation remains.”