Canada demanded a thorough investigation on Tuesday following the deaths of seven aid workers one of them a Canadian in the Gaza Strip who were attempting to deliver much-needed food due to an Israeli airstrike.
On Monday night, a convoy of laborers, among them a dual Canadian-American citizen, left a World Central Kitchen warehouse located in Deir al-blah, central Gaza. They had just brought in 100 tons of food that had been transported by boat from Cyprus.
Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Canada, was identified by World Central Kitchen. The aid organization said in a statement that the strike occurred despite significant efforts to coordinate World Central Kitchen employees’ movements with the Israel Defense Forces. In addition, three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, and a Palestinian were killed in the attack.
The CEO of the organization, Erin Gore, released a statement saying, “This is not only an attack against (World Central Kitchen), this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war.” After the attack, Gore’s group ceased operations in Gaza.
In one photo from the scene, the World Central Kitchen logo is prominently displayed on a white truck amidst the burned-out wreckage.
According to Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, attacking aid workers is “absolutely unacceptable”. He stated, “This is something that never should have happened, and we are deeply saddened for the families as well as the organization that has been putting people in danger to combat the incredibly terrible humanitarian crisis that is currently occurring in Gaza.
“We need full accountability and investigation in this.”
Declaring that “clarity” is necessary regarding the events that transpired, Trudeau reiterated the need for a ceasefire “so more aid workers are not in danger as they try to respond to the suffering on the ground in Gaza.”
The “unintended strike” that claimed the lives of “innocent people” was executed by the Israel Defense Forces, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted.
Investigating, he said, officials “will do everything, for this not to happen again.”
Since the most recent conflict there intensified in the fall, more than 200 aid workers have lost their lives in Gaza, according to the U.S. Aid Workers Security Database.
1,200 people were killed in an attack by Hamas, a terrorist organization that is officially recognized by Canada,on October 7. Many of the victims were residents of agricultural communes close to the Gaza border. After more than 200 hostages were taken, roughly 100 are still being held captive in Gaza.
