By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, causing the charity to halt the delivery of essential food aid to Gaza on Tuesday. Israel’s offensive has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
Ships still loaded with approximately 240 tons of aid that had arrived just a day earlier turned away from Gaza, according to Cyprus, which has been crucial in attempting to establish a sea route for delivering food to the territory. Israel has only permitted a small amount of aid to enter the devastated northern Gaza, where experts warn that famine is close.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that the country’s forces had carried out the “unintended strike on innocent people.” He stated that officials were investigating the strike and would strive to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Footage showed the bodies, some wearing protective gear with the charity’s logo, at a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. The victims included three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American-Canadian dual citizen, and a Palestinian, according to hospital records.
Additional footage of the strike's aftermath revealed a vehicle with the charity’s logo prominently displayed on its roof to make it identifiable from the air. The projectile had pierced a large hole through the roof.
In response to a worsening humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza, several countries worked to open a sea route in the hopes of allowing more aid to enter. The United States and other countries have also conducted airdrops of aid, but humanitarian workers insist these efforts alone are inadequate.
Founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen played a pivotal role in establishing the new route. The Israeli army has prevented UNRWA, the main U.N. agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north, while other aid groups have faced significant difficulties in sending truck convoys north due to the military’s failure to grant permission or ensure safe passage.
Andrés, whose charity operates in several war-torn or disaster-stricken countries, including Israel after the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, expressed being “heartbroken” by the deaths.
“The Israeli government must cease this indiscriminate killing. It must stop restricting humanitarian aid, cease targeting civilians and aid workers, and refrain from using food as a weapon,” he wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.
The charity stated that the team was traveling in a three-car convoy, including two armored vehicles, and its movements had been coordinated with the Israeli army.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top military spokesman, confirmed that officials have been “reviewing the incident at the highest levels” and that an independent investigation will be initiated.
Anera, a Washington-based aid group with decades of operations in the Palestinian territories, announced that following the strike, it was taking the “unprecedented” action of pausing its operations in Gaza, where it had been helping to provide approximately 150,000 meals daily.
The organization said in a statement that they have to stop their operations until their staff feel confident that they can work without too much risk.
Jamie McGoldrick, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, stated that this strike is not an isolated incident, and mentioned that about 200 humanitarian workers have died since the war started in October.
He said that this number is almost three times higher than the death count in any single conflict in a year.
The conflict started when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage. Israel responded with a very deadly and destructive offensive.
Tensions have risen across the Middle East, and an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday has increased them further. Iran and its allies have promised to retaliate to the strike, which killed two Iranian generals.
Three aid ships from Cyprus arrived on Monday with about 400 tons of food and supplies organized by World Central Kitchen and the United Arab Emirates after a trial run last month.
Cypriot Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis stated on Tuesday that about 100 tons of aid had been unloaded before the charity stopped its operations, and that the remaining 240 tons of aid would be taken back to Cyprus.
The United States, which has provided crucial military support for Israel’s offensive, has praised the sea route and is planning to build its own floating dock, with construction expected to take several weeks.
The U.S., Britain, Poland, and Australia, whose citizens were among those killed, according to the hospital, have called for an investigation or an explanation from Israel.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the U.S. was saddened and deeply concerned about the strike, while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called it very distressing.
He wrote on X that it is crucial for humanitarian workers to be protected and able to do their work, and mentioned that his country was working to confirm reports of the deaths of U.K. nationals.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Zomi Frankcom, 44, of Melbourne, was killed. Damian Soból was also among the victims, according to a post on Facebook by Wojciech Bakun, the mayor of the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl, where the aid worker was from.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 32,900 Palestinians, including about two-thirds women and children, have died in the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. Israel blames the civilian casualties on Palestinian militants because they fight in densely populated areas, but the army rarely comments on individual strikes.
Two other apparent Israeli strikes on Monday night killed at least 16 Palestinians, including five children, in Rafah. Israel has sworn to extend its ground operation in the area, where about 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere, live.
According to hospital records, one of the attacks hit a family home and resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including five children. Another strike hit a group near a mosque, causing the deaths of at least six people, including three children.
Many aid organizations have called for a temporary stop to the fighting to help reach people in need. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying for months to arrange this pause and a release of hostages, but the talks between Israel and Hamas have been slow and difficult.
It is believed that Hamas is holding around 100 hostages and the bodies of 30 others. They released most of the others during a break in the fighting in November, in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed.
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Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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