Gaza aid ship turns back after Israeli strike kills 7 aid workers
The World Central Kitchen (WCK) and another US charity it works with, ANERA, have announced they are pausing operations in Gaza following the strike on an aid convoy that killed seven workers – including three British nationals.
The UAE is also pausing humanitarian aid efforts through a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, pending a full investigation into the deaths of the WCK aid workers.
Only last month, the first aid shipment was unloaded onto a shore in Gaza, in co-operation with WCK.
The humanitarian aid is now being returned to Cyprus.
In this war of “superlatives”, we are recording the highest number of aid workers killed in any conflict.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) April 2, 2024
176 @UNRWA staff have been killed since the start of the war in #Gaza, several in the line of duty.
Humanitarian workers are #NotATarget and must be protected at all times. pic.twitter.com/hUVRtzpNKs
“At least two-thirds of the assistance is on its way back,” Cyprus’s foreign minister spokesperson, Theodoros Gotsis, told the Guardian.
“Around 332 tonnes of aid left Cyprus on Saturday. Around 100 tonnes, about a third, were unloaded and delivered but after these tragic events the other two-thirds are being brought back.”
The aid, which had included basic non-perishable food supplies such as flour and pasta, had reached the besieged coastal strip on a flotilla of ships that had departed the Cypriot port of Larnaca two days earlier.
Of the four vessels, two were carrying vital food provisions and two equipment and personnel.
The humanitarian assistance had been loaded on a transport ship, the Jennifer, and a barge towed by the Spanish-flagged Open Arms.
By the time Monday’s airstrike occurred, only supplies from the barge had been offloaded at a makeshift jetty off the Gaza coast.
Gotsis said with the charity putting its humanitarian relief operation on pause, the cargo would probably remain in Cyprus until the completion of investigations into the tragedy.
“Obviously we will have to wait now until the whole process of inquiry is carried out,” he said. “We have to wait and see if WCK resumes operations.”
The International organisation is now the only charity involved in overseeing the distribution of aid from the Mediterranean island.
Famine is spreading quickly among Gaza’s 2.3 million strong Palestinian populace and the news of the much-needed food being sent back from the territory will only heighten the dire stress and tragedy unfolding.
British aid workers killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
Three British nationals – who worked for the food charity World Central Kitchen were among those killed. The three men were former British soldiers working as security for the WCK.
The family of James Kirby – one of the three British nationals killed in the Israeli air strike in Gaza – have paid tribute to him:
Despite the risks, his compassionate nature drove him to offer assistance to those in dire need. A genuine gentleman, James was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone, even in the face of senseless violence. James lost his life trying to save others, he will never know what a void he has left, our family will never be the same.
The family of James Kirby
They say they are “incredibly proud of who James was and what he achieved”.