Aid worker says they can’t operate after 7 World Center Kitchen staffers are killed in Israeli strike

Sean Carroll: It is. It is very much so, and particularly for our staff that were working day in and day out, both in-person and over WhatsApp chat groups in Cairo, in Gaza, in Amman, it’s hit them very, very hard.

You can’t make any sense of what’s happened. And we haven’t heard a good explanation yet. We’re not experts in investigation of bomb scenes, but I think it’s a pretty big stretch to say that this was an accident and it was unintentional. They were in three vehicles, and each one of them appears to have been targeted in succession. I’ve heard horrifying accounts of what actually happened, and I think in any context around the world, this would be called a brazen act of cowardice, senseless, unjustified, no explanation is possible. And so, I think the world needs to, before it hangs its head in shame, needs to scratch its head and ask some really tough questions. How could this happen? How did we get to this point?

I mean, looking at the photos and the videos, how could that be an accident? Three separate vehicles were hit. I would imagine World Central Kitchen is going to want a better explanation than that. And we’re still waiting for an explanation on the death of our staffer, Mousa Shawwa, who was killed just under a month ago, and his 6 year old son died a few days after of his wounds. And we’ve also not gotten an explanation.

Yeah, and this is a standard operating procedure in areas of conflict and in war zones where humanitarian organizations and workers de-conflict with the warring parties, to let them know who we are, where we are, what we’re doing. We de-conflicted many times over the last few months with Israeli authorities, with the military on where our shelters are that were sheltering our staff and their families, where our offices, our distribution centers, our cars. And, my understanding, I have no reason to doubt it is World Central Kitchen had done all of that, including names of drivers and license plates, and their cars were all clearly marked, and two of them were armored cars. So, this is not easily explained. And it needs to be explained because humanitarian aid needs to continue, obviously for the sake of Palestinians, but also for the longterm security of Israel. There can’t be security for Israel, there can’t be any semblance of peace and living side-by-side and equal measures of peace and safety and security and dignity when these senseless acts make it so that people can’t understand how they could live side-by-side, and and for the sake of humanity.

Well, it’s far too difficult. Our footprint on the ground is not large, but it’s very effective. It’s very trusted, well-known. We have a good reputation. ANERA has been working in Palestine, in the occupied Palestinian territories, for over 55 years. We’ve been in the same office for 40 years until we had to leave it at the beginning of this war in Gaza City, but we still have staff in Gaza City. We have staff in Rafah. We did have staff in the middle area in Deir al-Balah where this attack took place. Until they actually had to evacuate the shelter they were in, they were feeling relatively safe. The shelter was de-conflicted, but three bullet holes went through the windows in late December, early January, and we still don’t have an explanation on that either. So, staff, like everyone else in Gaza, have moved, have been evacuated several times. They live in fear all the time. And we, like World Central Kitchen, have made the difficult and extremely unfortunate decision to pause our operations because of the lack of safety. Our staff, until now, until this attack, every day had said “We’re going to keep delivering aid. Yes, we’re fearful, we fear for our lives. We really fear for our family’s lives. But we’re going to keep delivering aid if it’s the last thing we do.” And now they finally said, “We can’t operate.” International law, humanitarian law, does call for the occupying power, or the power that controls the population, in this case, Israel, it is their responsibility to provide the essentials for sustenance and for living and foods and medicine and clothing and shelter. And, if they’re not providing it, they need to allow it to be provided by others. And at this point, we’re in a situation where that’s not happening. And again, I would call on the Israeli society and institutions to work with us and understand that, the work that we’re doing is the best hope for longterm peace and stability. But if we undercut humanity at this base level, it’s hard to see any hope for humanity and certainly any hope for peaceful coexistence.

Yeah, I think that’s correct. Particularly going up to the north when you have to cross through conflict areas and that has to be done. And as we’ve seen, many convoys have been attacked. World Central Kitchen convoys have been attacked in the past. This is not something that is brand new. It’s just that this is the most shocking instance of, as we know now, hundreds, nearly 200 humanitarian workers have been killed and many more of their family members. So, this is not the only attack on humanitarian aid workers, but it is certainly one of the most brazen and with the largest number of casualties, fatalities with an organization that is highly visible and is highly respected for its laser focus on delivering as many dignified meals to people who are hungry as quickly and effectively as they can. And they’re good at their job and they’re not political. And this shouldn’t happen.