Israel kills 7 World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza

An Israeli air raid has killed six international aid workers and a Palestinian driver.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK), confirmed on Tuesday that its staff members were killed in a “targeted attack” by the Israeli military. The dead were from Palestine, Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, as well as a US-Canada citizen.

WCK said the attack came as its staff were delivering food from its latest shipment to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel’s offensive.

WCK said it was immediately suspending operations in the region. The strike marked a big setback to efforts to deliver aid by sea, a route that has been developed due to Israeli restrictions on access to Gaza, where experts say famine is imminent.

“The WCK team was travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle,” the charity said in a statement.

“Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli army, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.”