\n<\/p>\n
An apparent Israeli airstrike killed four foreign aid workers, including a British citizen, and their Palestinian driver, while the group coordinated humanitarian aid in central Gaza, according to health officials and aid workers in the besieged strip.<\/p>\n
The group were killed on Gaza\u2019s coastal road in Deir Balah, central Gaza, on Monday night, health officials and a journalist at Al-Aqsa hospital, where the bodies were taken, told The Independent<\/em>. They sent videos showing the mangled bodies of five individuals, some of them wearing protective gear with the logo of World Central Kitchen charity, which was founded by celebrity chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n The videos also showed some of the dead individuals\u2019 passports. The hospital source said the foreign aid workers hailed from Britain, Australia, and Poland, respectively, with a fourth believed to be from Ireland.<\/p>\n The Independent <\/em>has contacted the Israeli embassies of those four countries for confirmation.<\/p>\n Gaza\u2019s government media office identified<\/a> the fifth of the dead as Palestinian.<\/p>\n The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Al Jazeera<\/a> it was aware of the \u201cdistressing\u201d incident but said it was unable to comment further because of \u201cprivacy obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n A Palestinian aid worker in Deir Balah who knew the group of aid workers told The Independent<\/em> they were returning from coordinating the distribution of 400 tonnes of food aid that arrived earlier that day via a new sea route from Cyprus to a pier that WCK had recently built. The aid worker asked not to be named for security reasons.<\/p>\n WCK told The Independent the deaths were a \u201ctragedy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family,\u201d Mr Andr\u00e9s wrote<\/a> in a statement on X on Monday. \u201cThese are people\u2026angels\u2026I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless\u2026they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.\u201d<\/p>\n Today @WCKitchen<\/a> lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people\u2026angels\u2026I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/rM3xbsiQ1Q<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s \ud83d\udd4a\ufe0f\ud83e\udd58\ud83c\udf73 (@chefjoseandres) April 1, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n The Israeli military did not confirm or deny the reports of the strike and said it had launched an invesigation.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the reports regarding the World Central Kitchen personnel in Gaza today, the IDF is conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Civilians in Deir al-Balah told The Independent<\/em> there was a wave of airstrikes Monday evening in the area which hit the coastal road, a main access point to North Gaza, and a mosque.<\/p>\n This is not the first time Israel has been accused of bombing humanitarian aid convoys and distribution centres. The United Nations\u2019s Palestinian Refugee Agency said that a tank shell hit one of its aid convoys in February and a supply distribution centre in March.<\/p>\n WCK teams mobilize across Gaza daily to distribute food to displaced Palestinians. Our 60+ kitchens in southern and central Gaza are cooking hundreds of thousands of meals each day like this mujadara, a comforting dish of rice, lentils, and caramelized onions. #ChefsForThePeople<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/zHF3oVlKCJ<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n