Israeli Airstrike Kills Seven Aid Workers From Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen — Including One Who Appeared on MSNBC

Seven aid workers, including an Australian who appeared on MSNBC last year, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Monday.

Four foreign aid workers from the UK, Australia, and Poland, along with their Palestinian driver, were killed on Monday while delivering aid to Palestinian civilians as part of the World Central Kitchen – a charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres which provides aid during natural disasters and other crises.

Following the attack, footage circulated on social media showing the bodies of the four aid workers along with their Australian, British, and Polish passports, which were covered with blood.

“Today @WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza,” wrote Andres in a statement:

I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.

In its own statement, the IDF said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

They added, “The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”

One of the aid workers killed on Monday, Australian Zomi Frankcom, appeared on MSNBC in September, where she spoke about delivering aid to Morocco following the deadly 2023 Marrakesh earthquake.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called reports of Frankcom’s death “very disturbing” and said his government was “urgently” investigating the incident.

“I’m very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza. My government has supported a sustainable ceasefire,” he said in a statement. “We’ve called for the release of hostages and there have been far too many innocent lives, Palestinian and Israeli, lost during the Gaza-Hamas conflict.”

This story has been updated.