World Central Kitchen pauses Gaza operations after air strike hits its staff

Displaced Palestinians, including children, wait in queues for food distributed by World Central Kitchen (WCK), the US-based international volunteer aid organization which had suspended its activities for a while after the Israeli army targeted and killed its employees, in Bani Suheyle town, east of Khan Yunis, Gaza on June 10, 2024. [Hani Alshaer – Anadolu Agency]

World Central Kitchen (WCK) suspended Saturday its operations in Gaza following an Israeli air strike that struck a vehicle carrying its staff members, Anadolu reports.

In a statement shared on X, the organization expressed sorrow over the incident and confirmed that it is still gathering information.

“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza,” the statement read.

WCK clarified that it had “no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.”

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October last year, killing nearly 44,400 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 105,100.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

READ: 33 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza amid ongoing escalation

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