4 April 2024
Seven aid workers belonging to the World Central Kitchen (WCK) have been killed in an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) strike in Gaza on April 2. According to the WCK press statement, the aid workers were “traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle. Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route. The seven killed are from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.”
The British Prime Minister expressed his frustration at the killing of aid workers in Gaza. Talking to reporters, Rishi Sunak said, “We’re asking Israel to investigate what happened urgently because clearly there are questions that need to be answered.”
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said he would talk directly to Netanyahu over the killing of aid workers in Gaza. He said, “Australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers, which is completely unacceptable. Governments are responsible for actions they take.”
British lawmaker Richard Burgon urged the government to conduct an inquiry into the Israeli attack on humanitarian aid workers in Gaza. He emphasized the need for the UK to halt arms sales to Israel immediately, citing the significant amount of military exports licensed to Israel since 2015. Burgon called the government to ensure a prompt and transparent investigation into the incidents to assess the potential use of UK arms in attacks on British citizens, and to report the findings to Parliament without delay.
Reports point out that over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. While the condemnation of the Western leaders over the killing of (their) aid workers is natural, it exposes the double standards deployed by the West over the entire conflict in Gaza. Why is the West silent on the dire situation of the Palestinians in Gaza? Are the lives of people from the West more precious than those of the Palestinians? It is high time the West wakes up to its hypocrisy and genuinely intervenes to stop the genocide in Gaza.
