Chef José Andrés: Israel targets aid workers ‘systematically, vehicle by vehicle’

Celebrity chef José Andres told Reuters in an emotional interview on Wednesday that Israeli attacks in Gaza that killed seven of his food aid workers were “systematic, vehicle-by-vehicle” directed at them.

Andres said via video that the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said was aware of the actions of his aid workers.

“It wasn’t just bad luck, we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andres said.

“Over 1.5 to 1.8 kilometres, there’s a very clear humanitarian convoy with logos on top, on the roof, it’s a very colorful logo and we’re obviously very proud of it,” he said. Who and what we do” is very clear.

Andres said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) knew the whereabouts of the convoy. He called on the U.S. government and the home countries of all aid workers who died to investigate the incident.

“They targeted us in the deconfliction zone in the area controlled by the IDF. They knew our group was traveling on that road… with three vehicles,” he said.

Rescue workers were killed when their convoy was attacked shortly after they were overseeing the unloading of 100 tons of food shipped by sea to Gaza. The Israeli military expressed “deep condolences” over the incident, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was unintentional.

Andres said there may have been more than three attacks on aid convoys. He dismissed claims from Israel and the United States that the attack was not intentional.

Asked if he accepted that explanation, Andres said: “Initially, I would have flatly rejected it.”

“No democratic state and military can target civilians and humanitarians, even if we do not coordinate with the (Israel Defense Forces),” he added.

When asked to comment on Andres’ remarks, an Israeli military spokesman pointed to previous comments by Chief of Staff Hertz Halevi, who called the incident a serious mistake and said the attack “was not intended to harming WCK aid workers”.

Andres said he personally was supposed to go there with his team but was unable to return to Gaza at the time.

He said the United States needed to do more to stop the war. Andres spoke with President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

“The United States must do more to tell Prime Minister Netanyahu that this war needs to end immediately,” he said. He questioned the Biden administration’s move to arm Israel while providing aid to Gaza.

“It’s hard to understand… that the United States will send its navy and troops to do humanitarian work, but at the same time, the weapons that the United States provides… are killing civilians,” he said.

The chef also wondered aloud how Netanyahu could start a war to save Israeli hostages “when they could die under the rubble of the same weapons Israel uses against the Palestinians.”

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Andres said his organization was still studying the security situation in Gaza and considering starting aid deliveries again.

World Central Kitchen rescue workers who died while leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse included Australian, British and American citizens.

At least 196 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to the United Nations, and Hamas has previously accused Israel of targeting aid distribution sites.

Describing how he learned of the attack, Andres said his group first lost contact with its team in Gaza and didn’t realize what had happened until seeing images of the bodies.

He said that after the IDF attacked the first armored vehicle, the group was able to escape and move to a second vehicle before being attacked, forcing them to move to a third vehicle.

Aid workers tried to communicate who they were, he said, adding that the IDF knew they were in areas it controlled.

Then a third vehicle was hit, “and we saw the aftermath.”

World Central Kitchen began working with Spanish charity Open Arms last month to deliver food aid to hungry people in northern Gaza via Cyprus’ maritime corridor. Andres earlier said the charity worked closely with the Israeli military, Arab states and other countries.

Biden said he was “angry and heartbroken” by the deaths. The United States supports Netanyahu’s assertion that the attack was not intentional.

When Andres, 54, founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, the company sought to circumvent red tape around the world and deliver food to disaster-stricken areas, including Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. Provide assistance. The conflict began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli data.

Since then, much of the densely populated area has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced. According to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Andrés denounced the entire war.

“This seems to be a war against humanity itself. You can never win this war. Because humanity will always win in the end,” he said.