Pitong aid workers patay sa Israeli strike sa Gaza: NGO
People gather around one of the bodies of World Central Kitchen workers at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. – World Central Kitchen, a food aid organisation, said an Israeli strike killed several of its workers in the besieged Gaza Strip on April 1, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reporting that four of them were foreigners. (Photo by AFP)
Pitong manggagawa mula sa food aid organization na World Central Kitchen, ang namatay sa isang Israeli strike sa Gaza strip.
Sa isang pahayag ay sinabi ng US-based charity, “World Central Kitchen is devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza. Those killed were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada and Palestine.”
Inanunsiyo rin ng aid organization na “ihihinto muna nila ang kanilang mga operasyon sa rehiyon.”
Simula nang mag-umpisa ang giyera noong Oktubre, ang World Central Kitchen ay naging bahagi na ng relief efforts, kabilang ang pamimigay ng mga pagkain para sa mga nagugutom sa Gaza.
Isa ito sa dalawang NGO na nangunguna sa mga pagsisikap na magdala ng ayuda sa Gaza sa pamamagitan ng bangka mula sa Cyprus, at bahagi rin ng pagtatayo ng temporary jetty.
Ayon sa NGO, “Our team was traveling in a ‘deconflicted’ area in a convoy of ‘two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle’ at the time of the strike.”
Dagdag pa nito, “Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.”
Sa kaniyang post sa social media platform na X ay sinabi ng founder ng World Central Kitchen na si chef Jose Andres, “We lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza. I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family.”
Kinumpirma naman ni Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, na isa sa mga namatay ay isang Australian national na nakilalang si Zomi Frankcom.
Aniya, “This is completely unacceptable. Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers.”
Una nang sinabi ng Gaza health ministry na ang mga bangkay ng apat na foreign aid workers at kanilang Palestinian driver, ay dinala sa ospital sa central town ng Deir el-Balah makaraang tamaan ng Israeli strike ang kanilang sasakyan.
Sinabi naman ng Hamas sa isang pahayag na ang aid workers ay kinabibilangan ng British, Australian at Polish nationalities, ang ika-apat ay hindi batid ang nasyonalidad, at ang ikalimang biktima na namatay ay isang Palestinian driver at translator.
Ayon kay US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, “The White House was ‘heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike. Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened.”
Pahayag naman ng Israeli military, “We are ‘conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident,’ and we have been ‘working closely with WCK’ in the effort to provide aid to Palestinians.”
Simula nang mangyari ang October 7 attack ng Hamas, ang Gaza ay sumailalim na sa isang ‘near-complete blockade,’ kung saan inakusahan ng United Nations ang Israel ng pagharang sa deliveries ng humanitarian assistance sa 2.4 milyong Palestinians.
Paulit-ulit nang nagbabala ang UN agencies na ang northern Gaza ay malapit nang dumanas ng famine o kagutom, at ang sitwasyon ay tinawag nitong isang ‘man-made crisis.’
