ALBAWABA - Following the tragic killing of seven of its active staff members in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, the World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced it will be halting its operations in Gaza till further notice.
An official statement has been released regarding the pause of work in Gaza, as the WCK said a decision will be made regarding the future of the operations in the enclave.
"World Central Kitchen is pausing our operations immediately in the region. We will be making decisions about the future of our work soon" the statement reads.
WCK said in a statement that it succeeded in delivering 100 tons of food relief to a warehouse in Deir al-Balah and that a convoy of two armored cars with the logo of the organization was leaving the location when it was struck by an Israeli strike.
Those killed include a Palestinian, citizens of Australia, Poland, Britain, and a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, the group said. World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore called the attack "unforgivable".
"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war," Gore said.
World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés took to X to express grieve and shock over the killing of the WCK staff members as they were fulfilling their duties in delivering humanitarian aid packages to devastated areas across Gaza.
Condemning the horrible attack, Andrés " said that "the Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives were lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now".
In response to the attack, Hamas released a statement condemning in "the strongest terms" the Israeli strike that killed the World Central Kitchen aid workers in Deir al-Balah.
The statement reads: "We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), condemn in the strongest terms the targeting of workers in the World Central Kitchen company by the zionist occupation army, south of Deir Al-Balah".
"This crime reaffirms that the occupation still insists on its policy of systematic killing against unarmed civilians and against international relief teams and humanitarian organizations, as part of its efforts to terrorize those working in them, to prevent them from continuing their humanitarian missions".
In the statement, Hamas demanded that the international community and the UN Security Council take action to put an end to the continuous heinous crimes that Israel continues to commit against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
