José Andrés Says Aid Workers Were ‘Targeted Deliberately’ by Israel: ‘This Is a War Against Humanity Itself’
World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés claimed on Wednesday that the seven WCK aid workers killed by Israel in an airstrike this week were “targeted deliberately,” contrary to Israel’s claim that the killings were a mistake.
In an interview with Reuters, Andrés said:
They were targeted systematically, car by car, and this happened over more than 1.5, 1.8 kilometers. So this was not just a bad luck situation where, “Oops, we dropped the bomb in the wrong place or not.” This was over 1.5, 1.8 kilometers with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof. A very colorful logo that we are obviously very proud of, but that’s very clear who we are and what we do.
He claimed, “What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, non-stop, until everybody was dead in this convoy. That cannot be– that cannot be the role of an army. That cannot be the role of an army that has hundreds of drones above Gaza in any single moment.”
Andrés concluded:
The humanitarians and civilians should never be paying the consequences of war. This is a basic principle of humanity. At the time, this looks like it’s not a war against terrorism anymore. It seems this is a war against humanity itself. You cannot be destroying every building. You cannot be destroying every hospital, every school. You cannot be targeting humanitarians. You cannot be targeting children. You cannot be fighting the basis of what humanity should be standing for.
Seven aid workers – including three UK citizens, a Canadian-American, and an Australian who had appeared on MSNBC – were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday while delivering aid to Gaza as part of the World Central Kitchen.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi blamed the killings on a case of “misidentification” and claimed “the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming” the aid workers.
“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “This incident was a grave mistake. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK.”
At the time of the attack, the aid workers were driving along a pre-approved route in a convoy covered in branding for the World Central Kitchen.
Watch above via Reuters.
