Some countries, organisations and officials have denounced the Israeli attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers.
The aid workers were “traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle,” a statement from WCK said.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the killings were “blatant” violations of international law.
It also called for a full investigation into the aid workers’ killings and said it was renewing its demand that Israel “implement Security Council resolutions”, ensuring “safe and sustainable access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip”.
China also denounced the Israeli attack with Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin saying, “China opposes all acts that harm civilians, damage civilian facilities, and violate international law.”
“We are shocked by the attack on international rescue workers in Gaza and condemn it,” he added.
Poland on its part, objected to the “disregard for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers.”
Additionally, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib condemned the killings of the WCK aid workers.
“Aid workers do essential work and must be protected, just like civilians,” said, adding “too many of them are victims of the conflict in Gaza”.
“Even in war, there are rules. All parties must respect them. Such acts are unacceptable,” the Minister stressed.
Moreso, The Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, shared his condolences over the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.
“Nowhere else are so many aid workers killed,” he said on X, adding a call for a ceasefire.
Furthermore, the Islamic Relief group stated that it is “outraged by yet another deadly attack on humanitarian workers.”
“Six months of Israeli bombing has turned Gaza into the world’s most dangerous place to deliver aid. More than 200 aid workers, mostly Palestinians, have been killed – the deadliest ever crisis for humanitarian workers,” a statement read.
It added, “Children are starving to death because Israel is preventing sufficient aid from entering by land, and now humanitarian workers are being killed while they try to deliver life-saving food that has been shipped in by sea.”
Islamic Relief reiterated its demand for an immediate ceasefire.
Other countries such as Cyprus, Iran, Jordan and Scotland, as well as other officials expressed their criticism of the incident.
Meanwhile, Israel expressed “sincere sorrow” to “allied nations” after a strike on an aid convoy in Gaza killed seven humanitarian workers, including nationals of Palestine, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Poland.
Israel’s military spokesman, Daniel Hagari disclosed that he called the founder of World Central Kitchen to convey Israel’s “condolences” and pledged to review the “incident at the highest levels.”
While not directly taking responsibility for the attack, Hagari said that Israel would probe the “incident” thoroughly to “reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again.”
He added, “We will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently.”
Cyprus President Urges For Continuous Operation Of Gaza Aid Maritime Corridor
Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus, urged that the deadly Israeli attack on an aid convoy in Gaza should not impede efforts to get food into the enclave.
Following the Israeli military strike that killed seven of its staff, WCK, which helped distribute the first aid shipment routed through the sea corridor last month, paused its operations in Gaza.
“We need to double down on efforts to get aid to Gaza,” said Christodoulides, whose country opened the only maritime corridor to ship humanitarian relief into Gaza.
He described the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the charity group whose convoy was hit, as a “crucial partner” in this operation.
READ ALSO: MFA’s Increment On Passport Application Charges Impractical
