World Central Kitchen, a food aid nonprofit started by celebrity chef José Andrés, announced Monday that it was seeking more information following reports that several of its employees in Gaza had been killed in a strike. The group said it would share more information only after it had learned more about the alleged attack.
“We are aware of reports that members of the World Central Kitchen team have been killed in an IDF attack while working to support our humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza,” a World Central Kitchen spokesperson said. “This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target.”
Andrés described the workers as “angels” in a statement on social media, attributing their deaths to an “IDF air strike.” He called on Israel “to stop this indiscriminate killing.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not confirm it was behind the strike but said in a statement that it would conduct “a thorough review at the highest levels” after photos appearing to show the killed aid workers began to circulate on social media.
“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on the messaging platform Telegram.
Andrés formed World Central Kitchen in 2010 as a high-profile relief organization in natural disasters and war zones. Andrés often uses his celebrity to raise awareness of humanitarian needs, including in Ukraine and Haiti.
The organization has been prominently involved in Gaza relief efforts since Oct. 7, most notably leading the construction of a makeshift jetty that allowed a ship chartered by the Spanish search-and-rescue group Open Arms to send 200 tons of food and water to the enclave.
In a news conference held at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on Monday, the passports of foreign nationals from Britain, Poland and Australia were shown, apparently corresponding to bodies recovered from the area of the strike. One killed was identified as a Palestinian man, described in the news conference as the aid workers’ driver at the time of the strike. Some of the dead appeared to be wearing clothing featuring World Central Kitchen logos.
Speaking at the conference, Ismail Al Thawabta, the head of the government media office in Gaza, said it was “time for everyone to come out and denounce the massacres that took place today, affecting four foreign nationals working in the Gaza Strip.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was investigating the reports, calling them “very distressing.”
“We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work,” the spokesperson added.
Michael Miller contributed to this report.