On Monday, Israel killed seven aid workers in Gaza. An Israel Defense Forces drone fired three missiles on their convoy, though the cars’ roofs were clearly marked. These aid workers weren’t the first to die in this war. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, at least 203 aid workers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict.
These seven workers, however, were employed by World Central Kitchen, a food relief nonprofit founded by Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés. Their deaths, unlike those of other aid workers—and many of the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed since Oct. 7—have become international news and received not only thoughts and prayers but condemnation.
U.S. President Joe Biden put out a statement in which he said he was “outraged and heartbroken,” that the aid workers were “brave and selfless,” and that “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. … The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.” On Thursday, during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “tense and challenging,” Biden for the first time called for an “immediate cease-fire” and stressed that the humanitarian situation is unacceptable; at a press conference the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “If we don’t see the changes we need to see, there will be a change in our policy.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “appalled” and, like Biden, said he expected a thorough investigation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said their deaths were “beyond any reasonable circumstances” and that Israel’s excuses were “not good enough.”
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