An Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip reverberated around the world, as friends and relatives mourned the deaths of those whose charity organization World Central Kitchen was delivering food to besieged Palestinians. I mourned.
Those killed included three British nationals, an Australian, a Pole, a dual American and Canadian citizen, and a Palestinian. Some traveled around the world, participating in relief efforts in the aftermath of wars, earthquakes, and wildfires.
Here is some information about the people who were killed.
Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abu Taha
Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25, had been working as a driver and translator at World Central Kitchen since the beginning of this year, relatives said.
His brothers described him as a dedicated young man eager to help his fellow Palestinians.
He was also a successful businessman who traded with countries including Ukraine, Egypt and China, according to his brother Abdul Razak Abutaha. His brother said his work made him well known on the Israeli side, which helped coordinate and approve the World Central Kitchen team to help unload the ship. , he added.
Saifeddin wanted to get married. “My mother was looking for his wife,” Abdul Razak Abu Taha said. “He would have gotten married if there had been no war.''
Saifeddine and other workers were excited to unload much-needed food aid in Gaza. When Saifeddin and his brother last spoke, he said he was on his way home after finishing his job.
Abdul Razak Abutaha said he heard about the airstrike and tried to call Saifeddin to check on his safety.
After many attempts, a stranger came out and said, “We found this phone about 200 meters from the car. Everyone inside was killed.”
Lalzaumi “Zomi” Francome
Friends and family remembered Lalzaumi “Zomi” Francome, 43, as a brave and selfless woman whose concern for others drew her to the world. For the past five years, she has worked at the Washington-based World Central Kitchen, which has taken her to the United States, Thailand, and her native Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “We are proud to honor this great Australian who has a proven track record of helping his fellow citizens, both internationally and through the support he gave during the Black Summer bushfires. I mourn,” he said. “She was clearly someone who cared about her fellow countrymen.”
Relatives said in a statement that Francome was an “excellent human being” who was “killed while on the job delivering food to the people of Gaza he loved.”
She was born in Melbourne and completed her undergraduate degree at Swinburne University of Technology. For her eight years she worked at Australia's largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Francome's social media highlighted visits to help people in need in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Romania and Haiti.
World Central Kitchen colleague Dora Weekley, who met with Francom in the Bahamas in 2019 as she responded to Hurricane Dorian, described her as “larger than life.”
She recalled when Francome was invited to walk the red carpet in Hollywood for an Emmy-nominated documentary about World Central Kitchen.
“I remember taking a picture of her in the dress and saying, 'Hold this forever,'” Weekley told ABC. “I mean, she usually wears sweats and runners and she’s in Pakistan or Afghanistan and she doesn’t have her hair done or her makeup done anywhere.
“She worked many hours, gave her all, and believed in helping those less fortunate.”
Associated Press correspondent Julie Walker reports on the lives of World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which the government says was a failure.
Damien Sobol
Damien Sobol, 35, is known as a cheerful, friendly and resourceful manager who quickly rose through the ranks at World Central Kitchen.
Sobol, who is from Przemysl, a city in southeastern Poland where she studied hospitality, has spent the past six months providing relief work in Ukraine, Morocco, Turkey and Gaza.
“He was truly an extraordinary person,” said Marta Wilczynska of the Free Place Foundation, which works with World Central Kitchen. “We were so proud of him.”
A few days after the Russian invasion in February 2022, Wilczynska met Sobol on the Polish side of the border with Ukraine. He spoke good English, could translate, and was an effective manager, able to organize work in any situation, she said.
“Always smiling, always kind, he loved this job. I felt like he had a brother,” Wilczynska said.
Mikolaj Rykowski, president of the Free Place Foundation, said Sobol was “a man capable of any task and was able to overcome all difficulties.”
“There are no words to describe how those who knew this wonderful young man are feeling right now,” Przemysl Mayor Wojciech Bakun said in a Facebook post about Sobol's death.
John Chapman, James Henderson, James Kirby
The three British victims were military veterans who had previously been in dangerous situations. They died providing security for World Central Kitchen relief efforts.
Mr Kirby, 47, from Bristol, a port city in southwest England, served in the British Army in Bosnia and Afghanistan before taking a job in private security. According to his LinkedIn profile, he served as a player escort at the 2021 Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Kirby's cousin, Amy Roxburgh Barry, called him an “all-around gentleman” and said he planned to take his mother and aunt on a surprise cruise after he returned from Gaza.
“It's really shocking that he fought in these wars and came back unscathed and then he went out to do something useful and something like that happens,” she told Sky News. .
Mr Chapman, 57, was a veteran of the Royal Marines and his family said in a statement they were devastated by his loss.
“He died trying to help people and was subjected to inhumane acts,” they said. “He was a wonderful father, husband, son and brother.”
Mr Henderson, 33, known as Jim, was a former Royal Marine from Cornwall in southwest England, local news outlets reported. He was scheduled to leave Gaza on Monday, the day he was killed, according to Sky News.
Jacob Flickinger
Jacob Flickinger was 33 years old and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
He served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 10 years and was deployed to Afghanistan, the military announced.
A GoFundMe page, which is raising money to help the family, said he was survived by his partner and 1-year-old son at home.
“It's very sad to tell you that we lost our son a few days ago, but in a way it's not surprising because he was so passionate about this kind of mission, this kind of work.” said his mother, Sylvie Labrecque. she told The Associated Press. “There were times when I thought there was a good chance his life would be short. He was kind of wild. He was very intense, but at the same time very smart.”
Labrecque said Jacob's father is American and she is Canadian. She spent five years in New York and five years in Miami before separating from Jacob's girlfriend's father. She wanted to raise her son in rural Quebec.
She said Jacob's grandfather also died fighting for the United States in World War II at the same age.
She said her son left behind a grieving 22-year-old girlfriend at home in Costa Rica.
Labrecque said he believed his relief convoy was intentionally targeted by the IDF. “It was intentional,” she said.
In Acapulco, Mexico, after Hurricane Otis hit the Pacific Coast last fall, a restaurant posted on social media that Flickinger was one of its employees bringing relief to the neighborhood.
“The fact that he was killed while delivering food to civilians in need is completely unacceptable,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
“At a time when humanitarian aid is urgently needed in Gaza, Israel has an obligation to ensure the safety of its aid workers. The world and his loved ones deserve an explanation of why this happened.” Prime Minister Trudeau said in a post about X.
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A previous version of this story gave the slain Palestinian man's name as Saif Issam Abu Taha and said he was 27 years old. Corrected to Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25, based on information from World Central Kitchen and his family. Also, an earlier version of this article reported Damien Sobol's age as 36 years old, but he was corrected to 35 years old based on details from World Central Kitchen.
