World Central Kitchen Resumes Food Aid to Gaza after Mourning the Killing of 7 of its Workers in the Region
World Central Kitchen Resuming Gaza Operations
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is resuming operations in Gaza. We continue to grieve and mourn the loss of seven of our friends and colleagues who were killed in an IDF attack in Gaza on April 1. We have spent the past few weeks honoring the lives of Saif, Zomi, Damian, Jacob, James, John, and Jim.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible. To date we have distributed more than 43 million meals and we are eager to deliver millions more. Food is a universal right and our work in Gaza has been the most life-saving mission in our 14-year organizational history.
YOU CAN DONATE to WCK: https://donate.wck.org/give/499865/#!/donation/checkout
We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible—by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. We’ll also send trucks from Jordan. We’re exploring the maritime corridor and utilizing the Ashdod Port. In addition to 68 community kitchens, we’re building a third high production kitchen in Mawasi (the other two are in Rafah and Deir al-Balah). The Mawasi Kitchen is affectionately known as Damian’s Kitchen, being built to his favorite saying, "No Problems, Only Solutions." (Damian Soból, age 35, WCK aid worker, killed in Gaza, was a Catholic)
Press Release and Image from WorldCentralKitchen.org
We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible—by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. We’ll also send trucks from Jordan. We’re exploring the maritime corridor and utilizing the Ashdod Port. In addition to 68 community kitchens, we’re building a third high production kitchen in Mawasi (the other two are in Rafah and Deir al-Balah). The Mawasi Kitchen is affectionately known as Damian’s Kitchen, being built to his favorite saying, "No Problems, Only Solutions." (Damian Soból, age 35, WCK aid worker, killed in Gaza, was a Catholic)
WCK has built a strong team of Palestinians to carry the torch forward. Our model has always been to work hand in hand with the community: Puerto Ricans feeding Puerto Ricans; Moroccans feeding Moroccans; Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians; and now, Palestinians feeding Palestinians. WCK is an organization of People feeding People, everywhere. The local team has been consulted and they are ready to feed millions more and do so in a way that honors the spirit and lives of our seven angels.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a “grave mistake” and says they have changed their rules of operation. While we have no concrete assurances, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers serving selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions. Our demand for an impartial and international investigation remains.
We have been forced to make a decision: stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises ever, ending our operation that accounted for 62% of all International NGO aid, or keep feeding knowing that aid, aid workers, and civilians are being intimidated and killed. These are the hardest conversations and we have considered all perspectives when deliberating. Ultimately, we decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times.
On behalf of WCK, thank you for your outpouring of support and messages during this unimaginable time. We will return soon with #ChefsForGaza and continue our life-saving mission.
“Wherever there's a fight so that hungry people may eat, we will be there.”
Erin Gore, CEO, WCK
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have apologized for the attack, calling it a “grave mistake” and says they have changed their rules of operation. While we have no concrete assurances, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers serving selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions. Our demand for an impartial and international investigation remains.
We have been forced to make a decision: stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises ever, ending our operation that accounted for 62% of all International NGO aid, or keep feeding knowing that aid, aid workers, and civilians are being intimidated and killed. These are the hardest conversations and we have considered all perspectives when deliberating. Ultimately, we decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times.
On behalf of WCK, thank you for your outpouring of support and messages during this unimaginable time. We will return soon with #ChefsForGaza and continue our life-saving mission.
“Wherever there's a fight so that hungry people may eat, we will be there.”
Erin Gore, CEO, WCK
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