Three British aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday have been hailed as “heroes” amid growing international condemnation of the attack, The Scotsman reports.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed that Britons John Chapman, 57, James “Jim” Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, who worked on the charity’s security team, were among the seven staff killed.
The team leader, Australian Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, 43, also died, as well as an American-Canadian with dual citizenship Jacob Flickinger, 33, a Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and a Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25.
According to The Times, Mr. Chapman was a former Royal Marine from Cornwall who was due to leave Gaza on Monday, while The Sun reported that he had previously served in the Special Boat Service, the Royal Navy’s special forces unit. According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr. Henderson was also a former Royal Marine and Mr. Kirby is also believed to be a military veteran.
WCK CEO Erin Gore called the dead “heroes of World Central Kitchen”. US President Joe Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” and said he had spoken to WCK founder José Andrés. Biden said:
This is not a standalone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed. This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen.
He noted an Israeli investigation “must be swift, it must bring accountability and its findings must be made public”. Biden also added:
I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. I have a team in Cairo working on this right now.
The charity said the convoy came under attack as it was leaving a warehouse in Deir Al-Balah where the team had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid delivered to Gaza via the sea route.
WCK immediately suspended operations in the region.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli troops were responsible for the “unintentional strike”.
During a telephone conversation with Mr. Netanyahu, Rishi Sunak said he was shocked by the killings and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation. A Downing Street spokesman said:
The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening. He said he was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an air strike in Gaza yesterday and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened. The Prime Minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable. The UK expects to see immediate action by Israel to end restrictions on humanitarian aid, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks.
