José Andrés remembered seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in a Israeli airstrike during a tearful and passionate eulogy at the Washington National Cathedral Thursday.
“When disaster strikes, it’s easy to see the dark and never the light,” Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), said. “But the reality is this, the light will always shine through.”
That light, Andrés said, was the lost World Central Kitchen team.
World Central Kitchen is a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization providing meals on the frontlines of crisis zones since 2010.
The seven workers were driving through a “deconflicted zone” April 1 in three vehicles – two of which were branded World Central Kitchen armored cars, according to an April 2 statement from the organization. WCK was coordinating their movements with the Israel Defense Forces, according to the statement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hit the convoy with airstrikes, killing six WCJ workers and a Palestinian driver. World Central Kitchen has since paused its operations in the region.
IDF has stated that the attack was not intentional and takes full responsibility for the deaths.
“There is no excuse for these killings. None,” Andrés said. “Even one innocent life taken is one too many.”
The seven killed were driving after unloading 100 tons of food aid for Gaza at Deir al-Balah warehouse, according to WCK.
The workers were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine, according to WCK.
“Food can never be a weapon of war,” Andrés said. “Humanitarians can never be targets because they are the best of us answering the call to serve on behalf of all humanity.”
