What we know
- World Central Kitchen said it was pausing aid efforts in the Gaza Strip after seven of its workers were killed in what it said was an Israeli airstrike. The U.S.-based nonprofit group said its team was traveling in two armored cars bearing its logo and had coordinated its movements with the Israeli military.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip." The Israel Defense Forces said earlier it would investigate the incident, which killed a number of foreign nationals, including a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada.
- World Central Kitchen is one of the few groups delivering much-needed food to the Palestinian enclave, where aid agencies have warned that half of the population is on the brink of famine. Cyprus said ships carrying some 240 tons of food were turning back after the incident.
- Tehran has vowed retaliation after it blamed Israel for an airstrike that destroyed the Iranian Embassy in Syria and killed a senior military commander yesterday. The Biden administration communicated directly to Iran that the U.S. didn’t know about the strike and wasn’t involved in any way, two U.S. officials told NBC News.
- The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 32,900, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Another 75,000 people have been reported injured. The Israeli military said at least 256 soldiers have been killed since the ground invasion of Gaza began.
Israel calls strike that killed aid workers a 'grave mistake'
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military chief says a deadly Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip was the result of a “misidentification” in complex conditions.
Announcing the results of a preliminary investigation early Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi expressed remorse over the killings and called the event a “grave mistake.”
“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification — at night during a war in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” he said. He gave no further details.
He said an independent body would conduct a “thorough investigation” that would be completed in the coming days.
‘It was devastating’: Former World Central Kitchen director questions why colleagues were in the area before deadly strike
Josh Phelps, the former director of relief operations at World Central Kitchen, mourned the death of his former colleague Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, who was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.
“What is troublesome is that layers of management didn’t stop her from going there," Phelps said, adding that "as we all grieve and we are grieving, hopefully the organization takes a step back to do a review on what they are doing with these people who just want to make the world and the organization proud and serve people."
Biden criticizes Israel for not doing 'enough to protect aid workers'
In a statement tonight, Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths of World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza, taking aim at Israel for not doing enough to protect civilians or aid workers.
The statement was one of his harshest criticisms of Israel since the war began.
"This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult — because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians," Biden said. "Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.
"The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations in order to avoid civilian casualties," he added.
Biden also said the White House would "continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate" humanitarian aid in Gaza.
U.S. airman launches hunger strike outside the White House
An active-duty airman began a hunger strike outside the White House at midnight Monday in protest of Palestinians starving in Gaza.
Lawrence David Hebert Jr. is on leave from his duty station in Rota, Spain, according to the Air Force, in which he serves as an integrated avionics journeyman.
Hebert told military.com that he was inspired by the airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy this year and that he will limit himself to water and a juice supplement for as long as he physically can.
He has been in the Air Force since Sept. 4, 2018, according to his service record, and his rank is senior airman (E4). He has a number of awards and decorations, including the good conduct medal, the humanitarian service medal and the Air Force achievement medal.
An Air Force spokesperson said Herbert’s actions are under review.
World Central Kitchen IDs 7 aid workers killed in strike
World Central Kitchen today identified seven of its aid workers who were killed in an airstrike by Israel’s armed forces.
They were: relief workers Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, a 25-year-old Palestinian; Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, a 43-year-old Australian; Damian Soból, a 35-year-old from Poland; and Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada.
The agency said security team members John Chapman, 57, James (Jim) Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, all from the United Kingdom, were also killed.
"These are the heroes of World Central Kitchen. These 7 beautiful souls were killed by the IDF in a strike as they were returning from a full day’s mission," CEO Erin Gore said.
"Their smiles, laughter, and voices are forever embedded in our memories. And we have countless memories of them giving their best selves to the world. We are reeling from our loss. The world’s loss.”
Palestinian killed in strike wanted to help other Gazans, his brother says
Saif Issam Abu Taha, 27, had worked for World Central Kitchen as a driver and translator since the beginning of the year, relatives said.
His brothers described him as a dedicated young man eager to help fellow Palestinians.
He’d also been a successful businessman who conducted trade with Ukraine, Egypt, China and other countries, said his brother Abdul Razzaq Abu Taha.
His work made him known on the Israeli side, which helped with coordination and in getting approval to assist the World Central Kitchen team in unloading a ship, the brother said.
Saif and other workers were excited about unloading the desperately needed food, his brother said. The last time he and Saif spoke, they had finished the job and Saif was heading home.
After hearing about the airstrike, Abdul Razzaq Abu Taha tried to call Saif to make sure he was OK.
After many attempts, he said, a stranger answered Saif's phone and told him, “I found this phone about 200 meters away from the car. All of the people inside are killed.”
World Central Kitchen says Israeli sniper fired at truck days before airstrike
World Central Kitchen told NBC News it believes an Israeli sniper fired at one of its vehicles two days before an Israeli airstrike killed seven of its aid workers.
The bullet damaged a side mirror, and no one was injured. World Central Kitchen said it reported the incident to the Israeli military.
NBC News has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. News of the shooting incident was first reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Trajectory of Israeli airstrike on World Central Kitchen convoy
The airstrike on a World Central Kitchen convoy in the Gaza Strip yesterday has raised questions about Israel's military practices in its war with Hamas.
While Israeli officials have acknowledged the bombings, they have released few details. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged the country’s forces “unintentionally hit innocent people.”
“It happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again,” he said.
NBC News geolocated three damaged aid vehicles abandoned along a 1.55 mile stretch of coastal highway in Gaza, using images posted by international photo agencies and cross-referencing with satellite imagery.
In a statement, WCK said the convoy was made up of three vehicles, two of which were armored and one of which had a soft back. The vehicles were traveling south on the al-Rashid Road near WCK’s headquarters in Deir al-Balah, a Palestinian city in the central Gaza Strip.
The coastal road was designated accessible for humanitarian aid by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in March.
The northernmost vehicle, which lies just south of the Port of Deir al-Balah, appears to have suffered fire damage. The hood, trunk and doors are open and there are visible burn marks on the ground. A photo shows fire damage inside the vehicle, with charred World Central Kitchen stickers strewn on the floor and across the seats.
World Central Kitchen and the attack that killed 7 workers
World Central Kitchen caters catastrophes.
An international relief organization that provides sustenance to both victims and first responders at humanitarian disasters around the world, the group was thrust unwillingly into a tragic spotlight yesterday when seven of its aid workers operating in Gaza were killed by an Israeli airstrike.
The victims included a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, as well as team members from Poland, Britain and Australia, and a Palestinian driver.
Calling the victims “angels,” Spanish American celebrity chef and WCK founder José Andrés called on the Israeli government to “stop this indiscriminate killing.”
In the wake of the deadly attack, WCK suspended operations at the 68 “community kitchens” it had been operating in Gaza for the last six months. The group says it has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestinians during that time.
Norwegian aid group to stay in Gaza after deadly strike
The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the aid groups on the ground in Gaza, said today that they would not suspend operations in the enclave.
Speaking out after the strike that killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen yesterday, Jan Egeland, the group's secretary general, told NBC News in a phone interview that the aid group still has 60 workers on the ground in Gaza.
Monday’s strike was “shocking,” Egeland said, particularly because the aid workers notified the IDF about their movements. It could severely undermine future efforts to bring aid into Gaza, he said.
“We already have too few organizations with real capacity on the ground,” Egeland said. “This is another blow to a lifeline to 2 million defenseless and starving civilians.”