World Central Kitchen fires 62 Gaza workers after Israel claims links to militant groups

World Central Kitchen (WCK) has terminated the employment of dozens of Palestinian workers in Gaza, according to statements from three workers who spoke with Reuters. 

The decision came following accusations by Israel that 62 staff members were linked to militant groups. The charity said Israel provided no evidence for the claim.

In a message to staff, WCK acknowledged that it had “made changes” to its workforce after Israel called for an investigation into its recruitment practices in Gaza.

WCK emphasised that the decision did not imply it had concluded the individuals were connected to any militant groups. “This should not be taken as a conclusion by WCK that the individuals are affiliated with any terror organisation,” it said, adding that Israel had not shared its intelligence and “we do not know the basis for Israel’s decision to flag these individuals.”

It further claimed that the decision to terminate the employees was taken “to protect our team and our operations.” A spokesperson for the organisation confirmed that 62 staff members were let go.

An Israeli security official told Reuters that Israel had requested an investigation into potential links between WCK staff and the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October last year.

The official alleged that a WCK employee, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, participated in the attack. Qdeih was later killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on 30 November. WCK confirmed the air strike but stated it had no prior knowledge of any involvement by an employee in last year’s attack.

The Israeli security review also claimed to have identified “affiliations and direct connections” between 62 WCK employees and militant groups. “Consequently, senior Israeli officials demanded that WCK terminate the employment of those workers,” he said.

The allegations against WCK staff come after similar accusations were made against employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees. These were later said to be unfounded, with Israel providing no evidence for its claims.

Two WCK workers, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, stated that they were told their terminations were based on an Israeli assessment of the staff. The dismissals were reportedly linked to “security reasons”, a term commonly used to suggest alleged connections to Palestinian resistance groups.

During its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, Israel has targeted all residents of the Strip, with over 70 per cent of those killed being women and children. It has repeatedly claimed those killed are combatants or were killed because they were in the vicinity of resistance fighters. Claims rights groups have repeatedly quashed.

Prior to October 2023, Israel targeted a number of aid organisations supporting Palestinians in Gaza, even claiming that the manager of World Vision in Gaza had channelled $50 million from the charity to Hamas. However from the outset World Vision found serious holes in the Israeli case. Its entire Gaza budget over the previous decade had been $22.5 million. Israel later revised the figures to $7 million, however to date it has provided no proof for either claim.

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