An Israeli airstrike on aid workers delivering food in Gaza has killed at least seven people — including citizens of Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom and a U.S.-Canada dual citizen — in the latest Israeli military action to hit humanitarian efforts in the besieged Palestinian territory. The British government has summoned Israel’s ambassador for a rebuke over the deaths of three U.K. nationals in a strike on an aid group in Gaza. The three Britons, whose names have not been released, were among seven people from World Central Kitchen killed while helping deliver food. The dead also include citizens of Australia, Poland, a U.S.-Canada dual citizen and a Palestinian. Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said her country condemns the killings and expects “full accountability.” Attacks on humanitarian personnel are “absolutely unacceptable” and international humanitarian law must be respected, she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Zomi Frankcom, 44, of Melbourne, was killed. Damian Soból was also among the victims, according to a post on Facebook by Wojciech Bakun, the mayor of the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl, where the aid worker was from.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- An Israeli airstrike targeting aid workers in Gaza killed at least seven individuals, including citizens from Australia, Poland, the UK, and a U.S.-Canada dual citizen, impacting humanitarian efforts in the area.
- World Central Kitchen, founded by José Andrés, suspended its operations in Gaza, affecting the new sea route for food aid from Cyprus.
- The U.S., supporting Israel’s military actions in Gaza, anticipated the sea route would facilitate more food deliveries to the northern Gaza population facing potential starvation.
- The strike followed an Israeli withdrawal from Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, revealing extensive destruction after a raid targeting alleged Hamas militants.
- Israel’s actions have resulted in nearly 33,000 Palestinian deaths, with the conflict initiated by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7.
- The UK government summoned Israel’s ambassador for a rebuke over the deaths of three UK nationals in the strike on World Central Kitchen workers.
- Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly condemned the attack and emphasized the need for accountability and respect for international humanitarian law.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of Zomi Frankcom, a 44-year-old from Melbourne, in the Israeli airstrike on aid workers in Gaza.
- Damian Soból, another victim of the strike, was recognized by Wojciech Bakun, the mayor of Przemyśl, Poland, where Soból originated.
- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged the strike as unintended and promised an investigation.
- The town of Przemyśl in Poland mourned the loss of aid worker Damian Soból, killed in the airstrike.
- Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides stated that more aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus could proceed despite the recent airstrike, as the U.S. nears completion of a floating pier off Gaza’s coast.
- Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that Israel operates globally to deter enemies, following the strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria, escalating regional tensions.
- Ships returning from Gaza will carry back undelivered aid after World Central Kitchen’s operations were halted due to the strike.
The Associated Press has the story:
UK, Canada & Australia condemn Israeli strike that killed aid workers from their countries
Newslooks- LONDON — (AP)
An Israeli airstrike on aid workers delivering food in Gaza has killed at least seven people — including citizens of Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom and a U.S.-Canada dual citizen — in the latest Israeli military action to hit humanitarian efforts in the besieged Palestinian territory.
World Central Kitchen, the food charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, said early Tuesday it was immediately suspending operations in the region, delivering a blow to the recently opened sea route for food aid. Ships carrying food turned back from Gaza after arriving just a day earlier.
Israel says the strike was an accident and that officials are investigating.
The United States, which has provided key military and diplomatic support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, had hoped the sea route would allow more food to enter the territory. In northern Gaza, the United Nations says much of the population is on the brink of starvation.
The airstrike late Monday came hours after Israeli forces withdrew from the burnt-out ruins of Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, allowing Palestinians and journalists to survey the devastation after a two-week raid that destroyed what was once the largest medical center in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military says the raid targeted Hamas militants grouped inside, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed nearly 33,000 Palestinians, the territory’s Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.
The British government has summoned Israel’s ambassador for a rebuke over the deaths of three U.K. nationals in a strike on an aid group in Gaza.
The three Britons, whose names have not been released, were among seven people from World Central Kitchen killed while helping deliver food. The dead also include citizens of Australia, Poland, a U.S.-Canada dual citizen and a Palestinian.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said her country condemns the killings and expects “full accountability.” Attacks on humanitarian personnel are “absolutely unacceptable” and international humanitarian law must be respected, she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aid workers were killed by an “unintended strike” by Israeli forces.
U.K. Development Minister Andrew Mitchell said at the meeting with Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely he “set out the government’s unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing” of the aid workers. He said he “requested a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability.”
Mitchell added: “We need to see an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and the hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable cease-fire.”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on X that he told his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz that the aid workers’ deaths “are completely unacceptable.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Zomi Frankcom, 44, of Melbourne, was killed. Damian Soból was also among the victims, according to a post on Facebook by Wojciech Bakun, the mayor of the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl, where the aid worker was from.
Jamie McGoldrick, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, has said the strike was “not an isolated incident,” noting that around 200 humanitarian workers have been killed since the war broke out in October.
A POLISH TOWN MOURNS AN AID WORKER KILLED IN AN ISRAELI STRIKE
WARSAW, Poland — A town in southeastern Poland is mourning an aid worker who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza while delivering desperately needed food aid that had arrived by sea.
The Polish aid worker has been identified by his hometown mayor as Damian Soból, from Przemyśl.
Przemyśl authorities lowered national flags to half staff on all administration buildings. Mayor Wojciech Bakun wrote on X that there were no words to describe the loss of this “fantastic young man.”
Soból’s Facebook account said he was educated at the Hotel and Catering School in Przemyśl.
He recently lived in Warsaw and his latest posts showed him traveling a lot and volunteering for the World Central Kitchen in Morocco and in Corfu, Greece, last year.
In 2022, he ran a collection of funds for the World Central Kitchen in Poland, which borders Ukraine.
“These brave people are changing the world for the better with their service and sacrifice for the others,” Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said on X.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry has not identified Soból by name, but has extended condolences to his family and said it demanded detailed explanations from Israel.
CYPRUS PRESIDENT SAYS MORE AID COULD BE SHIPPED TO GAZA DESPITE AIRSTRIKE
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The president of Cyprus says that more aid could be shipped to Gaza from Cyprus before the end of the month as the U.S. completes construction of a floating pier off the besieged territory’s coastline.
President Nikos Christodoulides said after escorting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on a tour of Cypriot port facilities Tuesday that the Gaza aid shipments “will continue as humanitarian needs are there” despite Monday’s airstrike that killed seven staff members from the U.S. charity World Central Kitchen.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israeli forces carried out the strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza. He said officials “will do everything for this not to happen again.”
In the last three weeks, World Central Kitchen in partnership with the United Arab Emirates has sent approximately 500 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza from the Cypriot port of Larnaca aboard a barge and two ships on two separate trips. The charity announced it’s suspending operations in Gaza following the death of its staffers.
Christodoulides said the tragic event “should not discourage us” and that the international community should “double down” on efforts to provide more assistance to Gaza’s civilian population.
He said aid workers “must have full protection” in providing assistance, citing “crystal clear” humanitarian law.
DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS ISRAEL OPERATES EVERYWHERE TO DETER ENEMIES
JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister says his country is operating everywhere to deter enemies, exacting a heavy toll against them.
Yoav Gallant made the remarks a day after a strike widely attributed to Israel killed two Iranian generals and demolished Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.
“We find ourselves in a multi-front war,” Gallant told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday. “We operate everywhere, every day, in order to prevent our enemies from gaining strength.”
Gallant also warned Israel’s enemies that any attack against Israel would exact a heavy price.
Gallant did not refer directly to the Syria strike, and Israel has not officially confirmed that it was behind the attack.
Israel has repeatedly targeted military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israeli troops in Gaza and along the Lebanese border. Monday’s strike in Damascus signaled an escalation because it struck an Iranian diplomatic mission.
It was not clear if Iran would respond itself, risking a dangerous confrontation with Israel and its ally the United States, or if it would continue to rely on proxies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
SHIPS RETURNING FROM GAZA WITH UNDELIVERED AID AFTER STRIKE
NICOSIA, Cyprus — An official in Cyprus says aid ships that arrived in Gaza this week will return with some 240 tons of undelivered aid after a deadly strike killed 7 aid workers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said Tuesday that around 100 tons of aid had been unloaded before the World Central Kitchen, an international charity, suspended operations after its workers were killed.
An apparent Israeli strike on a convoy in Gaza killed six foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver late Monday.
Cyprus has played a key role in trying to establish a maritime aid corridor to Gaza from its port city of Larnaca. Those efforts suffered a major setback when World Central Kitchen halted operations after the strike.
Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said the charity is suspending its operations in Gaza out of respect for the victims as well as to review its security protocols.
Israel has expressed sorrow over the deaths and vowed to carry out an independent investigation into what happened, while stopping short of accepting responsibility.
Currently:
— Forced from their Gaza home by Israeli troops, a family makes a terrifying escape through a war zone.
— An Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria has killed two generals and five other officers, Iran says.
— World Central Kitchen charity halts Gaza aid operations after Israeli strike kills seven workers.
— As Israel withdraws from Shifa Hospital, accounts from military and witnesses differ wildly.
— U.S. pushes alternatives to Israel’s planned Rafah invasion in talks with top Israeli officials.
— Israel clears way to expel Al Jazeera. The TV channel says Netanyahu’s incitement claim is a dangerous lie
— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
