An Israeli airstrike hit a convoy carrying a World Central Kitchen (WCK) crew that had just unloaded more than 100 tons of food supplies to Gaza via the sea route from Cyprus late Monday night.
The three ships that left on Saturday, which were being unloaded as the strike hit on Monday night, still turned around on Tuesday and continued back to Cyprus.
Cyprus’ President, Nikos Christodoulides joined calls by others for a full investigation into the incident.
This has turned out “to be a very sad day,” Christodoulides said on Tuesday after seven members of the World Central Kitchen NGO were killed in the attack but he pledged the humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza would continue.
“World Central Kitchen is one of our crucial partners in sending much-needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza and in […] the Amalthea Initiative. I express our sincere condolences to the WCK and the countries which have lost their citizens and we call for an immediate and complete investigation,” Christodoulides said.
According to 9News, WCK confirmed that seven of its team members – one being Australian – were killed.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” WCK CEO, Erin Gore said.
“[We] lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished.”
Celebrity chef and Founder of WCK, José Andrés, called on Israel to “stop indiscriminate killing,” following the reported deaths.
“No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now,” Andrés said.
Source: CyprusMail and 9News