Seven workers for World Central Kitchen were honored in Washington on Thursday, about three weeks after they were killed in an Israeli strike while delivering aid to civilians in Gaza.
The service, titled a “Celebration of Life,” took place at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday and featured faith leaders from a range of religions, music and tributes from World Kitchen Central workers. Members of the organization’s relief team read the poem “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou.
Chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen’s founder, delivered remarks, telling personal accounts of those killed.
“The seven people we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat,” Andrés said.
“They risked everything to feed people they did not know and will never meet,” he continued. “In the worst moment, the best of humanity shows up.”
Only those who received an invite could attend the service in person, but the ceremony was available online for the general public to stream. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, was set to attend on Thursday. Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state, was also expected to be there.
The killing of the World Central Kitchen workers earlier this month thrust the challenges of trying to get aid to civilians in Gaza amid the war -- and the dangerous conditions for those who do it -- into the spotlight.
The workers – Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha; Britons John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson; dual U.S.-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger; Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom; and Polish citizen Damiam Sobol – were killed when strikes from Israeli armed drones ripped through vehicles in their convoy while on a food delivery mission.
In an op-ed for The New York Times in the aftermath of the killing Andrés called on Israel to “stop killing civilians and aid workers” and allow more food and medical aid into Gaza immediately. World Central Kitchen has also called for an independent commission to investigate the killings, arguing Israel cannot credibly investigate its own actions.
Andrés reiterated that call on Thursday, saying they still “demand an investigation into the actions” of the Israeli Defense Forces.
“There is no excuse for these killings – none,” Andrés said. “The official explanation is not good enough.”
“We are all consumed with anger, regret and sorrow,” he later said.
Israel’s investigation found the military officials involved in the attack had violated policy by acting based on a single grainy photo that one officer had contended — incorrectly — showed one of the seven workers was armed. The Israeli military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others.
The aid workers, whose trip had been coordinated with Israeli officials, are among more than 220 humanitarian workers killed in the Israel-Hamas war that began Oct. 7, according to the United Nations.
The deaths intensified demands from the Biden administration and others that Israel’s military change how it operates in Hamas-controlled Gaza to spare aid workers and Palestinian civilians at large, who are facing a humanitarian crisis.
President Joe Biden earlier this month said he was “outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths, but he continues to face criticism from some over his continued support of Israel amid the war.
World Central Kitchen, along with several other humanitarian aid agencies, suspended work in the territory after the attack, heightening concerns about the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, especially as the U.N. warns of looming famine.
Spectrum News' Justin Tasolides and the Associated Press contributed to this report.