Israeli attack in Gaza kills World Central Kitchen workers; Israel says 1 was an October 7 attacker

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip killed five people on Saturday, including World Central Kitchen employees, and the charity said it was “urgently seeking more details” after the Israeli military said it targeted a WCK. worker who was part of the Hamas attack that started the war.

WCK said it was “heartbroken” by the airstrike and that it was unaware that anyone in the car had claimed ties to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, saying it was “working with incomplete information.” It said it was suspending operations in Gaza.

The charity’s work in Gaza was temporarily suspended earlier this year after an Israeli attack killed seven of its workers, most of them foreigners.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the alleged October 7 attacker had taken part in the attack on Nir Oz’s kibbutz, and asked “senior officials of the international community and the WCK government to clarify” his support for the kibbutz come to work. the good cause.

Violence in Gaza raged even as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to hold, despite sporadic episodes that have tested Gaza’s vulnerability.

The attack on the vehicle highlighted what aid groups call the dangerous work of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of the 2.3 million residents and caused widespread hunger.

Palestinian health official Muneer Alboursh confirmed the strike.

At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, a woman held up an employee badge with the WCK logo, the word “contractor” and the name of a man allegedly killed. Belongings – burnt phones, a watch and stickers with the WCK logo – littered the hospital floor.

Nazmi Ahmed said his cousin has been working for WCK for the past year. He said he drove to the charity’s kitchens and warehouses.

“Today he went to work as usual … and was targeted without any prior warning and without any reason,” Ahmed said.

In April, an attack on a WCK aid convoy killed seven workers: three British nationals, Polish and Australian nationals, a Canadian-American dual national and a Palestinian. The Israeli army called the attack a mistake.

That strike sparked international outrage and the brief suspension of aid to Gaza by several groups, including WCK. Another Palestinian WCK worker was killed by shrapnel from an Israeli airstrike in August, the group said.

Another Israeli airstrike hit a car near a food distribution point in Khan Younis on Saturday, killing 13 people, including children. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies.

“They were distributing relief supplies, vegetables, and we saw the rocket land,” said witness Rami Al-Sori. A woman sat on the ground and cried.

The ceasefire appears to be holding

Attempts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly failed. But the US-French-brokered deal for Lebanon appears set to hold after it came into effect on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had struck sites used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities, Hezbollah or activists monitoring the conflict there. Israeli aircraft have struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon several times since the ceasefire, citing violations.

The Israeli attack in Syria came as insurgents pushed into the country’s largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that brought new uncertainty to the region.

(Syrian insurgents are in Aleppo, suffering major setback for Assad as government forces regroup)

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah calls for an initial two-month ceasefire, during which the militants must withdraw north of Lebanon’s Litani River and Israeli forces must return to their side of the border.

Many Lebanese, including some of the 1.2 million displaced people, flocked south to their homes despite warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese armies to stay away from certain areas.

“Day after day we are returning to our normal lives,” said Mustafa Badawi, a cafe owner in Tyre.

The toll of conflict

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli drone strike on the village of Rub Thalatheen killed two people and injured two others. Another attack said it hit a car in the southern village of Majdal Zoun, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said three were injured, including a 7-year-old.

The Israeli military said it was operating to keep “suspects” in the region at bay, without elaborating. Israel says it reserves the right to strike against alleged violations.

Israel has made the return of tens of thousands of displaced Israelis the aim of the war. But the Israelis are worried about their return.

“No, it won’t be like before,” said an Israeli evacuee, Lavie Eini.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its attack on southern Israel. Israel and Hezbollah maintained cross-border fire for almost a year until Israel escalated an attack that detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah. It then launched an intensive aerial bombing campaign that killed Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, and launched a ground invasion in early October.

More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than seventy people in Israel – more than half of them civilians – and dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.

The Hamas attack in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostage.

On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Speaking under duress, Alexander referred to the 420-day captivity and mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent offer of $5 million for the return of the hostages. “The prime minister is supposed to protect his soldiers and citizens, and you failed us,” Alexander said.

Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister spoke to Alexander’s family after the release of the “brutal psychological warfare video” that contained “an important and exciting sign of life.”

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. They make no distinction between civilians and combatants in their count, but say more than half of the dead were women and children.

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Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mroue reported from Beirut. Mohammad Jahjouh from Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, contributed.