World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack
The World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack occurred on 1 April 2024, when Israeli drones targeted a three-car convoy belonging to World Central Kitchen in the Gaza Strip, killing seven aid workers. The workers had been overseeing the transfer of a shipment of food from a makeshift pier to a warehouse some distance away in the northern Gaza Strip, which has been pushed close to famine by Israel's invasion and blockade during the Gaza war.
The attack occurred the week after a unanimous International Court of Justice ruling in the ongoing Genocide Convention case that ordered Israel to ensure the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza. The Israeli military acknowledged that their drone operators fired three missiles in five minutes at three of the WCK's cars, with some survivors of the first strike boarding the second car, which was minutes later hit by a second missile. Some survivors of the second strike boarding the third car, which was in turn struck by a third missile. All seven aid workers were killed, and their bodies were sent to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital. They held Australian, British, Palestinian, Polish, and dual American-Canadian citizenships.
Despite the convoy's route having been coordinated in advance, the Israeli military claimed it had been targeting unauthorized gunmen but admitted its commanders had misidentified their location, failed to properly disseminate information about the convoy, and violated rules of engagement by striking all three cars in succession. Two officers were dismissed and three more reprimanded, including Southern Command head Yaron Finkelman. WCK founder, Spanish chef José Andrés, accused Israel of deliberately attacking the convoy; the group argued that the military could not credibly investigate itself and called for an independent inquiry. While noting serious failings on the part of the IDF, an Australian government report largely supported the Israeli position.
The attack drew widespread international condemnation, and led WCK and other humanitarian organizations to pause their operations in Gaza. Statements made by the Israeli ambassador in Poland on the incident led to a diplomatic spat between the two countries. The event led to allegations from various commentators that Israel is deliberately using starvation as a weapon of war, which is a war crime.
Background
On 27 October 2023 Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 attacks. A severe humanitarian crisis has developed since the start of the invasion with healthcare in a state of collapse and shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel caused by the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip has had limited humanitarian aid allowed through Israeli controlled checkpoints which has exacerbated the crisis. The drone strikes came hours after the WCK charity, which was also delivering food services in Israel after 7 October, brought a shipload of 100 tonnes of food from Cyprus to the northern Gaza Strip.In March 2024, experts, such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, warned that Gaza might already be experiencing famine; while Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International, stated that "large-scale famine mortality" would soon begin. Widespread civilian deaths in Gaza and the initial 7 October attack have led to accusations of war crimes against Israel and Hamas. There have been a number of reported attacks on civilian aid seekers and workers, with more than 173 UNRWA staff killed by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.
There has been rhetoric by Israeli politicians against the distribution of aid in Gaza. Giora Eiland, a retired Major General, wrote: "In order to make the siege effective, we have to prevent others from assisting in Gaza." His words were quoted by the South African delegation at the ICJ.
Three days before the killings the International Court of Justice had ruled unanimously, in response to a second South African request for additional provisional measures in the ongoing Genocide Convention case, ordering Israel to increase the flow of aid into Gaza "without delay" to allow the "provision... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance". In the ruling the ICJ said Gaza was "no longer facing only a risk of famine" but "famine is setting in" and that, according to UN observers, 31 people, including 27 children, had already died of malnutrition and dehydration.
Two days before the drone strikes, a car of the WCK was hit by an IDF sniper. The WCK filed a complaint with Israel over this incident and demanded a guarantee of safety of their workers.
Incident
On 1 April 2024, targeted Israeli drone strikes killed seven WCK aid workers, who were travelling in three of the WCK's cars in the Gaza Strip. Sky News estimates that the strikes occurred between 10:30 and 11 pm. Since the wreckages of the cars were around apart, The Washington Post reported that this indicated that some of the cars were able to continue driving after the attack began, and Financial Times concluded that the cars were "hit separately".World Central Kitchen said that it had coordinated its movements with the Israeli Defense Force when the convoy was hit. WCK said the strike occurred despite vehicle logos and "coordinating movements" with Israeli forces in the "deconflicted zone".
Haaretz, citing Israeli defense sources, described that after a drone missile hit one World Central Kitchen car, some of this car's passengers boarded another World Central Kitchen car, which "continued to drive and even notified the people responsible that they were attacked, but, seconds later", this car was also hit by a drone missile; finally the third car picked up some of the wounded from the second car, then a third drone missile struck the third car.
Victims
Seven people were killed; they were recovered by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in a "challenging operation" and taken to Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. The victims were seen wearing protective gear showing the charity's logo. They were taken to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in southern Gaza to be evacuated to Egypt.Among the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were confirmed British, Australian, Polish, Palestinian, and dual American-Canadian nationals. The three British victims worked for Solace Global, a security company based in Poole, Dorset, England.
The casualties included:
- Saif Abu Taha, a 26-year-old Palestinian local from Rafah, who had worked as a driver for WCK since the start of the year.
- Damian Soból, a 35-year-old Polish national from Przemyśl. Soból had worked with the WCK since 2022, engaging in relief efforts in Russian-invaded Ukraine. In February 2023, he traveled to earthquake-stricken Elbistan in Turkey with aid. In September 2023, he helped earthquake victims in Morocco. He then helped Gaza refugees in Egypt and later in Gaza itself.
- Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, a 43-year-old Australian national.
- James Henderson, a 33-year-old British national who had served in the Royal Marines, was a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- John Antony Chapman, a 57-year-old British national who had served in the Royal Marines, was a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- James Kirby, a 47-year-old British national. He was a former soldier and a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual Canadian-American citizen from Quebec. He was a former soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces as an infantryman in the Royal 22nd Regiment.
Perpetrators
Leading UK barrister Michael Mansfield reckoned the letter "is plainly relevant to a particular state of mind" of those behind the bombings, indicating that "the target of the Israeli army is primarily Hamas but Gaza as a whole by weaponising aid under siege conditions."
Immediate reactions
Countries, officials, and organizations that denounced the attack include: the European Commission, Iran, Jordan, the United Nations's emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths, Norwegian Refugee Council, Open Arms, who were delivering food with WCK, Scotland, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and World Food Programme Chief Cindy McCain.World Central Kitchen
José Andrés, the founder of the World Central Kitchen charity, wrote: "I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people... angels... I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless... they are not nameless." He called on Israel to stop "indiscriminate killing," continuing that "It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon."In a separate statement, Andrés said: "The air strikes on our convoy were not just some unfortunate mistake in the fog of war. It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the IDF." Andrés made another video statement in which he accused the IDF of systematically and deliberately targeting aid workers to kill everyone in the convoy. He demanded a neutral entity above the IDF conduct the investigation.
WCK chief executive Erin Gore said: "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. This is unforgivable." Gore continued: "We—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF."