Gaza: Who are the seven aid workers killed in the strike?

US NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it was “devastated” on Tuesday morning. She reported the death of seven members of her team as a result of shelling, which, according to the organization, was carried out by the Israeli army. These aid workers were in a convoy near Deir el-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip. They just placed “100 tons of food aid” there, the organization said in a press release.

The victims are “from Australia, Poland and the UK,” at least one of them has “dual American and Canadian citizenship,” and the others are “Palestinian,” WCK said, without specifying how many citizens are from those countries. On social media, Palestinian media shared photos of the bodies with the NGO’s logo, confirming that they were some of the victims. With three passport photographs: a British, a Pole and an Australian.

The Israeli army says it is “reviewing the tragic incident at the highest level to understand the circumstances” and assures that it is “working closely with the WCK” in distributing aid.

Lalzawmi Frankcom, an Australian with a ‘huge heart’

In the morning, Australia confirmed that one of its citizens, 43-year-old Lalzawmi Frankcom, was one of the victims. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the “extremely valuable” work she was doing in the Gaza Strip helping with food distribution, adding that Australia “will pursue accountability.” “This is a tragedy that should never have happened,” he insisted.

A week earlier, an Australian nicknamed Zomi was filmed in the Gaza Strip with NGO cooks. “Here is the gorgeous, fragrant rice that will be served in the kitchen of Deir al-Balah today,” she said with a smile in the video, posted March 25.

This was not the Australian aid worker’s first field mission. She had already volunteered following the fires that devastated Australia from October 2019 to February 2020, the Prime Minister said. Lalzawmi Frankcom also appeared in a video posted from the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian hit the archipelago in 2019. In September 2023, the Australian also traveled to Morocco after a devastating earthquake hit the country. “We are going to these isolated villages as quickly as possible to provide fresh food and water,” she told US channel MSNBC.

Her friend and colleague Dora Weekley describes her as a “tireless” young woman with a “huge heart”. “It’s incredible that people who did good work and helped others could be killed,” she told national broadcaster ABC.

Poland regrets one victim

The Polish Foreign Minister also confirmed in the morning it turned out that one of the killed was a Pole. He expressed his “condolences (…) to the family of our brave volunteer and to all the civilian victims in the Gaza Strip.” According to Polish and Israeli media, this is Damian Rafal, 35 years old.

The mayor of the Polish city of Przemysl (southeast) Wojciech Bakun, where the Polish victim appears to be from, noted on his official Facebook account: “Yesterday, during a rocket attack by Israeli forces on a humanitarian convoy delivering food to the Gaza Strip, our colleague was killed from Przemysl, volunteer, member of the World Central Kitchen team.” “There are no words to describe how people who knew this fantastic man feel now,” Wojciech Bakun added.

The Foreign Secretary remains more cautious about the identity of the victim. “The details of this person will be provided only after his body is identified” by the Polish consul, he said. The country’s authorities will begin an investigation, demanding an “urgent explanation” about the attack.

No confirmation of other victims

The UK has not yet confirmed that the Briton was killed. “We are aware of reports of the death of a British citizen in the Gaza Strip and are urgently seeking further information,” a Foreign Office spokesman told the British press. The Briton’s death “has not yet been confirmed and I think the IDF is looking into the matter, possibly right now,” Education Minister Gillian Keegan told the BBC, saying she was “very concerned” about the situation.

Almost no information has been released about the victim, who has dual Canadian and American citizenship. “We are heartbroken and deeply concerned about the strike,” it said Monday. on a social network National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson. “Aid workers must be protected as they provide desperately needed aid, and we call on Israel to immediately investigate what happened,” she added.

A Palestinian NGO driver was also reported to have been killed as a result of the strikes. He also worked as a translator. A photo of a man named Saif Issam Abu Taha, identified as the victim, is being widely circulated on social media. Numerous mournful comments have accumulated on his Instagram page in recent hours.

The other two victims are reported to be members of an association of Palestinian nationality, whose identities are also unknown.