WASHINGTON — World Central Kitchen is resuming its operations in Gaza after an airstrike by Israel killed seven of its humanitarian workers earlier this month.
The April 1 airstrike killed seven people: Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha of Palestine; John Chapman of Britain; Jacob Flickinger of the U.S. and Canada; Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom of Australia; James Henderson of Britain; James Kirby of Britain; and Damian Soból of Poland.
"We continue to grieve and mourn the loss of seven of our friends and colleagues who were killed in an IDF attack in Gaza on April 1," said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore. "We have spent the past few weeks honoring the lives of Saif, Zomi, Damian, Jacob, James, John, and Jim."
A celebration of life was held Thursday in Washington, D.C. at the Washington National Cathedral.
"The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat," Chef José Andrés, founder World Central Kitchen said Thursday before reading the names of the victims.
That service also included remarks from Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral; and other religious leaders. In addition, a wide range of U.S. dignitaries and senior officials from the home countries of each victim were invited to attend.
Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have called the attack, an "unintended strike."
Andrés has pushed back saying that his team members were deliberately targeted.
World Central Kitchen had paused their work since the deadly attack.
"A plate of food is plate of hope. A message that someone somewhere cares for you," Andrés said during the ceremony. He vowed to the victim's families to honor their loved one's legacies adding, "Food can never be a weapon of war. Humanitarians can never be targets."
On Sunday, nearly one month after the strike, World Central Kitchen's CEO, Erin Gore, said the organization's operations would resume.
>Read CEO Erin Gore's full statement below:
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We are restarting our operation 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. Food is a universal right and our work in Gaza has been the most life-saving mission in our 14-year organizational history.
We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible - by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. We’ll also send trucks from Jordan. We’re exploring the maritime corridor and utilizing the Ashdod Port. In addition to 68 community kitchens, we’re building a third high production kitchen in Mawasi (the other two are in Rafah and Deir al Balah). The Mawasi Kitchen is affectionately known as Damian’s Kitchen, being built to his favorite saying, "No Problems, Only Solutions."
WCK has built a strong team of Palestinians to carry the torch forward. Our model has always been to work hand in hand with the community: Puerto Ricans feeding Puerto Ricans; Moroccans feeding Moroccans; Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians; and now, Palestinians feeding Palestinians. WCK is an organization of People feeding People - everywhere. The local team has been consulted and they are ready to feed millions more and do so in a way that honors the spirit and lives of our seven angels.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a “grave mistake” and says they have changed their rules of operation. 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.
We have been forced to make a decision: stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises ever, ending our operation that accounted for 62% of all International NGO aid, or keep feeding knowing that aid, aid workers, and civilians are being intimidated and killed. These are the hardest conversations and we have considered all perspectives when deliberating. Ultimately, we decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times.
On behalf of WCK, thank you for your outpouring of support and messages during this unimaginable time. We will return soon with #ChefsforGaza and continue our life-saving mission.
Gore said, “Wherever there's a fight so that hungry people may eat, we will be there.”