U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the Israeli airstrike on Gaza that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers and called for an investigation.
“We’ve spoken directly to the Israeli government about this particular incident. We’ve urged a swift, a thorough, an impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened,” Blinken said Tuesday following a meeting in Paris with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the strike, saying, “unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”
The World Central Kitchen, founded by Spanish-American chef and restaurateur José Andrés, said that it was pausing aid efforts in the wake of the incident, which killed a number of foreign nationals including a U.S.-Canada dual citizen.
“I can only say that for so many of us we extend our condolences to the loved ones, to the families, the friends, the colleagues of those who lost their lives, as well as those who were injured,” Blinken said. “I spoke to José Andrés just about a week ago about the efforts that World Central Kitchen has engaged in in Gaza, as it is in many other conflict zones around the world, including in Ukraine. They have been doing extraordinary, brave work, day in, day out, and critical work to try to make sure that people in need get what they need, starting with the most basic thing of all — food to survive.”
“The victims of yesterday’s strike join a record number of humanitarian workers who have been killed in this particular conflict. These people are heroes. They run into the fire, not away from it. They show the best of what humanity has to offer when the going really gets tough. They have to be protected,” the top diplomat continued. “We shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk.”
