World Central Kitchen (WCK) will restart its aid operations in the Gaza Strip just four weeks after an airstrike mistakenly killed seven of its employees.
In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon, WCK announced that it has 276 trucks at the Jordan-Israeli border filled with 8 million meals ready for distribution. The food-relief charity is also exploring additional ways to expand its operations and deliver more food to the enclave, including utilizing the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Two armored cars belonging to WCK were hit on April 1 by an Israeli airstrike while leaving a warehouse in central Gaza. The team had been in the process of unloading humanitarian aid that had been delivered from Cyprus. The Israeli military apologized for the unintentional deaths and dismissed two senior officers following an internal investigation. Shortly thereafter, WCK announced it would cease operations in Gaza until further notice.
In honor of one of the victims, Damian Sobol, WCK has begun constructing a new distribution hub in the Arab town of Mawasi, which will be named “Damian’s Kitchen.” This new kitchen will join WCK’s two existing main facilities in Rafah and Deir al-Balah and 68 additional community kitchens throughout the Gaza Strip.
