World Central Kitchen pauses Gaza operations, says 7 workers killed in Israeli airstrike

The family of an Australian food aid worker killed in the Gaza airstrike has released a statement saying it was ” deeply mourning” its “brave and beloved Zomi.

Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom was among several foreign national aid workers killed when the World Central Kitchen convoy was hit yesterday.

“We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza. She was a kind, selfless and outstanding human being that has travelled the world helping others in their time of need,” the family said.

“She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit. We are still reeling from the shock, and we humbly request privacy during this difficult time.” 

World Central Kitchen said at least seven of its members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. Video captured the moments when paramedics were seen moving bodies into a hospital.

The Biden administration communicated directly to Iran yesterday that the U.S. didn’t know about the strike on its consulate in Damascus and wasn’t involved in any way, according to two U.S. officials. 

Two other U.S. officials said the administration was told about the operation in Syria while Israeli planes were in the air but didn’t know what the target was. 

“The United States had no involvement in the strike, and we did not know about it ahead of time,” a spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement. 

U.S. officials still don’t have independent confirmation that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi was among those killed in the strike, according to two additional U.S. officials. 

Israeli officials have declined to comment on the strike.

The World Central Kitchen has said seven of its members were killed in an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, and that it was pausing its operations in Gaza.

The members of the aid group were traveling in a “soft skin” vehicle and two armored cars with the World Central Kitchen logo on them when they were struck yesterday, the organization said in a statement. The group added that the convoy was hit despite having coordinated movements with the IDF, and that members at the time were leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where they had unloaded over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore said.

The members who were killed were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada and Palestine, the WCK said.

The IDF said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.”