– We who have aid workers inside Gaza are shocked – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

On Tuesday morning, World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed that seven of their employees were killed in an Israeli attack.

WCK states that they are suspending all work in Gaza until further notice as a result of the attack.

– Becomes more worried

– There are no safe places in Gaza, not even for aid workers. This is what the director of policy and communication at Save the Children, Gunvor Knag Fylkesnes, told NRK.

She says that the only way to secure the aid work is for Israel to stop the bombing and for a ceasefire to be introduced.

– The murders of aid workers are a great tragedy, and these are 7 of over 200 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since October. The difference now is that they are international, says Fylkesnes.

Save the Children understands that WCK is now stopping its work in the Gaza Strip, but has not yet come to the same conclusion.

– We assess the security situation continuously and monitor developments day and night. Of course we became more concerned when we got this news, says Fylkesnes.

Shocked

– We who have aid workers inside Gaza are shocked that Israeli warplanes attacked an aid convoy that our colleagues in the WCK had informed the Israelis about and which was clearly marked.

This is what Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, writes to NRK.

Now he believes several aid organizations will suspend their aid work in northern Gaza. The Secretary-General says that the Norwegian Refugee Council is not going to withdraw.

– The innocent in this war need us more than ever before. We become.

– The Israeli campaign in Gaza, which receives weapons from the USA, Germany and other of Norway’s allies, has used disproportionate force from the outset in violation of international law.

Egeland believes that there has not been a sufficient distinction between civilian and military targets.

– I now want to take an initiative with the UN and the other major aid organizations in Gaza so that we jointly demand that Israel, and their most important supporter the USA, introduce a new and better notification system between the Israeli army IDF and the aid organizations in Gaza, says Egeland.

IDF: To be investigated

– We have reviewed the incident at the highest level to understand the circumstances surrounding what happened and how it happened, says spokesperson for the IDF, Daniel Hagari.

He says he has called the organisation’s head and offered his condolences on the loss of the aid workers.

The IDF promises an independent investigation.

– We will open an investigation to investigate this serious incident in more detail. This will help us reduce the risk of such an incident happening again, says Hagari.

The Israeli Defense Force calls the attack a tragic incident.

The US has highlighted the sea route from Cyprus as a new way to get emergency aid to a desperate population which, according to the UN, is on the brink of famine because necessary supplies are blocked by Israel at the borders.

Israel refuses the UN aid organization for the Palestinians UNRWA to deliver supplies to northern Gaza. Other aid organizations say it is too dangerous to send truck convoys because Israel will not guarantee safety.

Sets the work

– World Central Kitchen is devastated that seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF attack in Gaza, says a statement from the organization.

The aid organization says they are putting all work in the region on hold.

– We will soon decide on our work going forward, says a press release.

WCK built its own breakwater on the Gaza Strip to bring in emergency aid by sea. The first shipment entered the area on March 15, while the second arrived on Monday with 400 tonnes of food and equipment on three ships.

Both deliveries were coordinated with the Israeli Defense Forces.