Two aid workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, with Israel saying it had killed a militant who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and who it said was employed by a US-based charity.
The first was a World Central Kitchen member, who was hit in a vehicle in Khan Younis in Southern Gaza. The Israeli military said that he had taken part in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel and was under surveillance but did not offer any evidence.
The family of the man, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, said the Israeli allegations were false and meant to justify his unlawful killing. They said he was an engineer who dedicated his life to charitable work.
World Central Kitchen confirmed the airstrike and said it had no knowledge about an employee involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza,” it said in a statement posted on X. “World Central Kitchen had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7th Hamas attack.”
The charity group said it was pausing operations in Gaza, adding that it was working with incomplete information and was urgently seeking more details. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that three employees of the charity were killed in the strike, with medics saying a total of five people were killed.
