Horror as Brit among seven volunteers killed in Gaza, Hamas reveals | World | News
An airstrike in Gaza has killed seven volunteers, including one from Britain, Hamas has revealed.
Among the other victims who died in the attack were nationals from Poland and Australia – and a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
Another to die was a Palestinian who was driving their car as the attack landed.
A spokesperson for a Hamas-run government office in Gaza, Ismail at Thawabta, said Israel was responsible for the deaths.
In a statement, the charity described the incident as a “tragedy” and said that humanitarian aid workers and civilians should “NEVER be a target. EVER”.
The convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al Balah warehouse, despite having coordinated its movements with the Israel Defence Forces.
The charity workers were said to be delivering food supplies that had arrived from Cyprus earlier on Monday.
WCK had organised the 400-tonne shipment in partnership with the United Arab Emirates and it was its second delivery after a pilot run last month.
The aid organisation confirmed that it has halted its operations with immediate effect in the region.
Erin Gore, the chief executive of WCK, said the team had been “travelling in a deconflicted zone in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle”.
She added: “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.”
The bodies of the aid workers have been taken to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border.
They will reportedly be evacuated out of Gaza, while the Palestinian driver’s body will be handed to his family in Rafah for burial.
One of the victims was named Zomi Frankcom. The 43-year-old Australian was described by her family as “a kind, selfless and outstanding human being [who] travelled the world helping others in their time of need.”
They said she would leave behind a legacy of “compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.”
The Israeli Defence Forces said it was conducting a “thorough review” into what occurred.