Key events
A full report on the reported Gaza strike is here – by my colleague Ben Doherty:
For some background on the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the US-based charity delivers food relief and prepares meals for people in need.
It said last month it had served more than 42m meals in Gaza over 175 days.
Reuters reports that chef Jose Andres started the WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti after an earthquake. The organisation has since delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the US border, healthcare workers during the Covid pandemic and people in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
In its most recent post from Monday on X, the WCK said its teams mobilised across Gaza daily to distribute food to displaced Palestinians.
It said:
Our 60+ kitchens in southern and central Gaza are cooking hundreds of thousands of meals each day like this mujadara, a comforting dish of rice, lentils, and caramelised onions.
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of a reported air strike on a convoy in central Gaza that has killed four foreign nationals, according to the territory’s health officials. Here’s what we know so far:
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The Israeli military said it was investigating after nationals from UK, Australia and Poland who were working for the World Central Kitchen were reportedly in the convoy that was struck.
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The nationality of a fourth aid worker was not immediately known. A Palestinian translator was also reportedly killed.
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The group were travelling in a convoy that was hit south of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, local officials said.
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The media office of the Hamas-run government of Gaza reported the deaths late on Monday.
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Footage showed the bodies of the five dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Several of them wore protective body armour with the charity’s logo. Hospital staff showed the passports of three of the dead – British, Australian and Polish.
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The source of strike could not be independently confirmed.
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World Central Kitchen said: “This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target.”
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A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, Avichay Adraee, said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.
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Medical officials said the group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours early by ship.
We’ll bring you all the latest developments on the story as they come to light.
