Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the World Central Kitchen logo destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza, April 2, 2024. A memorial at the Washington National Cathedral on April 25 will honor the seven workers of WCK killed in attack.
Ishmael Abu Dayyah/AP
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Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP
Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the World Central Kitchen logo destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza, April 2, 2024. A memorial at the Washington National Cathedral on April 25 will honor the seven workers of WCK killed in attack.
Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP
WASHINGTON – A memorial at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday will honor the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza earlier this month.
José Andrés, the celebrity chef and philanthropist behind the Washington-based disaster relief group World Central Kitchen, is expected to speak at the celebration of life service, and famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will perform, the people said. organizers.
The Biden administration said Thursday that Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell would be among the top administration figures attending.
The aid workers were killed on April 1 when a succession of armed Israeli drones destroyed their convoy’s vehicles as they left one of World Central Kitchen’s warehouses on a food delivery mission. Those who died were the Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha; the British John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson; Jacob Flickinger, dual US-Canadian citizen; the Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom; and Polish citizen Damiam Sobol.
After an unusually swift investigation, Israel said that military officers involved in the strike had violated policy by acting on a single grainy photograph that an officer had held (incorrectly) showing that one of the seven workers was armed. The Israeli army fired two officers and reprimanded three others.
The aid workers, whose travel had been coordinated with Israeli officials, were among more than 220 aid workers killed in the six-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to the United Nations. That includes at least 30 killed in the line of duty.
The international prominence and popularity of Andrés and his nonprofit work galvanized widespread outrage over the murders of the World Central Kitchen workers. The killings intensified demands from the Biden administration and others that the Israeli military change the way it operates in Gaza to protect aid workers and Palestinian civilians in general, who face a humanitarian crisis and desperately need help from aid organizations. relief as UN warns of imminent famine.
World Central Kitchen, along with several other humanitarian aid agencies, suspended their work in Gaza after the attack. “We haven’t given up,” World Central Kitchen spokeswoman Linda Roth said last week. “We’re in funeral mode right now.”
Religious leaders of various faiths will participate in Thursday’s services. Previously, funerals were held in the workers’ countries of origin.