World Central Kitchen will resume operations in Gaza on Monday, it says
The World Central Kitchen said it will resume operations in Gaza on Monday.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire," CEO Erin Gore said Sunday in a press release. "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."
"We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible -- by land, air or sea," Gore added, in part.
Chef José Andrés' aid group had paused operations on April 2, when seven workers were killed in Gaza during an Israel Defense Forces drone strike, the food-relief organization has said.
Andrés, in an exclusive sit-down interview with "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz earlier this month, said the strike is "unforgivable" and that Israel is committing a "war against humanity itself."
An investigation by the Israeli military into how the WCK strike occurred found that the decision to hit the aid convoy was a "serious violation" of their rules. It noted in its report the team that carried it out lacked sufficient evidence to do so, twice violating operating rules. In response, the IDF said it dismissed two officers, suspended two commanders and reprimanded three others. An Israeli military spokesman said it was "a terrible chain of errors, and it should never have happened."
Israeli officials have repeatedly defended their military operations in Gaza, insisting they take steps to curb civilian deaths while allowing aid to flow in that cannot benefit Hamas.