Charities have stopped their aid as an Israeli drone attack on the besieged city has killed seven aid workers.
The strikes were on a team from World Central Kitchen. The deceased were identified as James Henderson, John Chapman, and James Kirby, all Britons. Others include a Palestinian, Saif Issam Abu Taha; Lalzawmi Frankcom, an Australian; Damian Sobol, a Polish; and Jacob Flickinger, a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
Humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is likely to worsen as other aid organizations, like Anera, which helps refugees around the Middle East, and the US-based Project Hope, which focuses on healthcare, have announced that they would pause operations in the city.
Anera said the killings have led its team to “conclude that delivering aid safely is no longer possible”. It further said while it understands the consequences on the Palestinian population, the risks associated with delivering aid leave it with no choice but to halt its operations.
Last month, a UN-backed report had projected imminent famine in the northern half of Gaza. Oxfam says the number of people facing ravaging hunger has nearly doubled since December.
At least 27 children have died of malnutrition, the health ministry in the territory says. The territory is controlled by the dreaded Palestinian group Hamas.
On Monday evening, a convoy of three armoured cars belonging to WCK was attacked. The seven people were killed during the attack.
Incidentally, aid ships organized by WCK arrived in Gaza on Monday. The ships were carrying 400 tonnes of food and supplies, enough for 1 million meals. The United Arab Emirates funded the shipment.
Workers had only offloaded 100 tonnes before the drone attack forced the charity to order the vessels carrying the remaining aid to return to Cyprus.
The President of the United States and the Prime Ministers of the UK and Canada have condemned the killing.
While lamenting the killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as unstrange in wartime.
