Chef José Andrés is “heartbroken and grieving” after seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in an airstrike reportedly carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza early Tuesday morning. World Central Kitchen, the not-for-profit organization founded by the Spanish-American chef, provides fresh meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises, per its official website.
In a statement posted Monday on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), Andrés wrote, “I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless.”
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing,” his post continued. “It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”
WCK said it was “aware of reports” that members of its team were killed “while working to support our humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza.” The group explained in a separate statement that its members were traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle when they were struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore. The seven members killed were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.
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