Seven Humanitarian Workers Killed By Israeli Airstrikes, Head Of WCK: This Cannot Be Forgiven

The WCK mobile team travels the Gaza Strip every day to distribute food to Palestinian civilians. (Twitter/@WCKitchen)

JAKARTA - A total of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK), mostly Australian, British and Polish nationals, died as a result of Israeli airstrikes in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, the organization said.

Those killed included Palestinian workers as well as dual citizens of the United States and Canada, traveling in two armored cars bearing the WCK logo and other vehicles, WCK said in a statement.

Although its movement was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the convoy was attacked while leaving Deir al-Balah's warehouse, after lowering more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, the WCK said.

"This is not just an attack on the WCK, this is an attack on a humanitarian organization that appears in the most dire situation where food is used as a weapons of war," said Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen.

"This cannot be forgiven," he said.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres who founded WCK in 2010 sent cooks and food to Haiti after the earthquake said he mourned the families and friends of those who died.

"The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing," he said on social media.

"They need to stop limiting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as weapons. No more innocent lives are lost. Peace starts from our common sense of humanity. This must start now," he continued.

Video obtained by Reuters showed paramedics moving the body to hospital and showing the passports of the three dead people.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it was conducting a thorough review at the highest level to understand the circumstances it called tragic incidents.

"IDF is making extensive efforts to enable the delivery of safe humanitarian aid, and has cooperated with WCK in their important efforts to provide food and humanitarian assistance to the Gaza community," the IDF said.

Separately, the militant group Hamas said in a statement that the attack was aimed at terrorizing workers of international humanitarian agencies, thus preventing them from carrying out their mission.

WCK said it would immediately stop its operations in the area and would immediately make a decision regarding the future of its work.

It is known, WCK provides food assistance and prepares food for people in need. Last month, WCK had served more than 42 million foods in Gaza for 175 days.

WCK was also involved in sending its first aid to Gaza by sea corridor from Cyprus in March. Delivery of the second WCK maritime assistance of 332 tons arrived in Gaza earlier this week.

Since starting operations in 2010, the organization has delivered food to people affected by natural disasters, refugees on the US border, health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and people experiencing conflict in Ukraine and Gaza.