Israeli Strike Kills 5, Including Three World Central Kitchen Workers

Israeli forces targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killing at least five people, including three WCK workers.

The three WCK workers were identified as Azeem Jalal Abu Daqqa, Ahed Azmi Qudeih, and Mohammed Adel Al-Namla.

On April 1, the truck arrived at the WKC warehouse and three other, unrelated trucks, left on a route that the NGO had informed the Israeli occupation forces of beforehand. Not only that, the IOF were informed of the exact time the convoy would leave.

This attack is not an isolated incident, with a previous strike in April resulting in the deaths of seven workers.

One vehicle bearing the WKC logo on its roof – just like the remainder of the vehicles – was struck by a missile, and several aid personnel were seen leaving it wounded and seeking another vehicle. The second vehicle was then struck by a missile, and the few survivors that remained and sought to seek shelter in the third car were also hit as soon as they got into the third vehicle, and all seven personnel were killed.

The three attacks mean that Israeli occupation forces hunted the aid workers down and killed them in cold blood.

IOF target recognized aid worker locations in Gaza

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have carried out at least eight attacks on aid workers’ convoys and facilities in Gaza, despite aid organizations sharing their coordinates with Israeli authorities for protection, according to a report by Human Rights Watch released on May 14.

These strikes have killed or injured at least 31 aid workers and others, with over 250 aid workers reported killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the UN.

On January 18, 2024, an Israeli attack on a joint guest house of two aid organizations injured three people. Investigators, including those from the UN, believe the strike used a US-made munition, likely delivered by an F-16 aircraft.

Human Rights Watch criticized the deconfliction system, which was designed to protect aid workers, calling out its failure to prevent these attacks. Belkis Wille from HRW stated, “Israel’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers was shocking and should never have happened under international law.”

The eight incidents identified include attacks on convoys or premises belonging to World Central Kitchen, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and other organizations. These attacks, which targeted known aid facilities and convoys whose locations had been shared in advance, have killed at least 15 people, including two children, and injured 16 others.

The attacks, which have been documented in part through a New York Times investigation, show the systemic nature of these violations, and they include:

-November 18, 2023: Attack on an MSF convoy
-December 9, 2023: Attack on a UNRWA guest house
-January 8, 2024: Attack on an MSF shelter
-January 18, 2024: Attack on an IRC and MAP guest house
-February 5, 2024: Attack on a UNRWA convoy
-February 20, 2024: Attack on an MSF guest house
-March 8, 2024: Attack on a home sheltering an Anera employee

The UN also reported that by April 30, 2024, 254 aid workers had been killed in Gaza, with the majority being from UNRWA.