Celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés has announced that several members of his World Central Kitchen nonprofit organization were killed in Gaza on Monday.
“I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family,” Andrés wrote on X/Twitter. “There are people…angels…I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless…they are not nameless.”
The Associated Press reported that “an apparent Israeli airstrike killed four international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity and their Palestinian driver.”
World Central Kitchen shared a statement on social media regarding the deaths of these members.
“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER,” the statement read.
Founded in 2010 by Andrés, World Central Kitchen is devoted to cooking and delivering meals to people in need following social and environmental disasters. Andrés and his nonprofit were the subject of “We Feed People,” the 2022 National Geographic documentary directed by Ron Howard.
“This documentary comes in a very unique moment in the history of humanity when I sincerely believe that governments of the world are taking food for granted,” Andrés told Variety in 2022. “Emergencies, in a way, are the perfect moment to show that food is a true necessity for humans.”
The Gaza region has been devastated by violence and bombings since Oct. 7, when terrorist attacks and hostage-taking by Hamas set off war with Israel.
(Pictured: José Andrés in the 2022 documentary “We Feed People.”)
