The charity of famed Spanish chef and entrepreneur José Andrés has called for an independent investigation into the attack on one of his teams in Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces.
In a statement, World Central Kitchen called on the governments of Australia, Canada, the US, Poland, and the UK to join its demand for an independent third-party investigation to find out why IDF targeted a WCK convoy on April 1, killing seven of its workers.
"Israel has admitted to the killings but called it a 'a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants,' and something that 'happens in war,' said WCK.
The NGO explains that it was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles carrying civilians. "Their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission," said Javier Garcia and Erin Gore, Co-Chairman and CEO in the release.
WCK was founded in 2010 by José Andrés, a chef originally from Spain, with the mission to cook and distribute food in areas affected by natural disasters, unrest, social conflict or war.
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, José Andrés stated, "The seven people killed at a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless, nameless individuals. They are not generic aid workers or collateral war damage.
"Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damian Sobol risked everything for the most fundamentally human activity: sharing our food with others.
"These are the people I served with in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza and Israel. They were far more than heroes."
José Andrés stated that WCK has not only fed Palestinians in the conflict zone but also Israelis. He mentioned that since Day 1, they have served more than 1.75 million hot meals in Israel alone, mostly to families displaced by Hezbollah rocket shelling in the north of the country. In Gaza, the chef added, WCK has served 43 million hot meals through 68 community kitchens.
"Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces," wrote José Andrés.
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