José Andrés accuses Israel of targeting his employees deliberately
Seven aid workers, including foreign nationals, from the non-profit World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli military strike on Monday
Celebrity chef José Andrés accused Israel of targeting his employees deliberately.
Speaking through video, Andres said the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military.
According to him, Israel knew his aid workers’ movements. “This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andres said.
“This was over 1.5, 1.8 kilometres, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colourful logo that we are obviously very proud of,” he said adding, it’s “very clear who we are and what we do.”
Andres said the IDF was aware of the convoy’s whereabouts. He called for investigations of the incident by the US government and by the home country of every aid worker who was killed.
He demanded investigations into the incident by the U.S. government and the home countries of the aid workers.
He underscored the meticulous planning of the convoy’s route, which traversed through an area controlled by the IDF.
“They were targeting us in a deconflicting zone, in an area controlled by IDF. They know that it was our teams moving on that road… with three cars,” Andres lamented.
Andres vehemently rejected Israel’s assertions that the strike was not deliberate.
“Even if we were not in coordination with the (Israel Defence Forces), no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians,” he stressed.
Furthermore, Andres also criticized the U.S. government’s stance on the conflict, urging President Joe Biden to do more to end the war.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity founder questioned the paradoxical nature of supplying aid to Gaza while also arming Israel, highlighting the complexities of the situation.
Seven aid workers, including foreign nationals, from the non-profit World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli military strike on Monday, as they were delivering food to starving civilians in Gaza.
Those killed included a dual US-Canada national, as well as people from Australia, Poland, and three from the United Kingdom, and a Palestinian.
The World Central Kitchen in a statement said it was “devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza”.
According to the WCK, its team was “travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle”.
