By Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) — World Central Kitchen, the food charity established by famous chef José Andrés, stopped its operations in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli attack resulted in the death of seven of its workers, mainly foreigners.
The organization, which stated it will make decisions about long-term plans in the region soon, has been providing much-needed food to Gazans facing widespread hunger and has been leading the recent effort to deliver aid by sea from Cyprus. Its absence, even if temporary, is likely to worsen the war-torn territory’s hardships as the United Nations cautions that famine is impending.
Here’s an overview of the charity’s work in Gaza and the potential implications of its absence:
WHAT IS WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN?
Established in 2010, World Central Kitchen delivers freshly prepared meals to those affected by natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, or to those enduring conflict. The group has also provided meals to migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border, as well as to hospital staff who worked tirelessly during the coronavirus pandemic.
The aid group sends in teams who can cook meals that cater to the local palate on a large scale and quickly.
“When you talk about food and water, people don’t want a solution one week from now, one month from now. The solution has to be now,” Andrés is quoted as saying on the group’s website.
World Central Kitchen has worked in numerous affected regions and currently has teams in Haiti, addressing the needs of Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion, as well as providing meals to people affected by the war in Gaza.
WHAT HAS IT DONE DURING THE WAR IN GAZA?
Teams from the charity have spread out across the region since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 and throughout the conflict that it instigated. It has fed Israelis displaced by the attack as well as former hostages, according to its website, and people in Lebanon displaced by fighting with Israel. However, its work in Gaza has been the most challenging.
In Gaza, the group states it has provided over 43 million meals to Palestinians.
The group has established two primary kitchens, in the southern city of Rafah and the central town of Deir al-Balah. It supports 68 community kitchens throughout the territory, serving over 170,000 hot meals daily. The group intensified its efforts during Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims traditionally fast from sunrise to sundown and then have a generous meal, distributing 92,000 food packages or about 4.7 million meals.
The group has also provided meals through airdrops and has led two shipments by sea transporting hundreds of tons of food for northern Gaza, where the food emergency is most severe.
In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Andrés credited the charity’s sea deliveries with prompting the U.S. to declare that it would construct a floating pier for aid delivered to Gaza by sea.
“I think this has been our accomplishment,” he said.
WHAT WILL THE CHARITY’S ABSENCE MEAN FOR PEOPLE IN GAZA?
With World Central Kitchen immediately stopping its operations, tens of thousands of meals a day won’t be distributed.
After the deadly attack, a spokesperson for Cyprus’ foreign ministry announced that the aid ships that arrived in Gaza this week will go back to Cyprus with about 240 tons of aid that were not delivered. The spokesperson mentioned that around 100 tons have already been unloaded.
Other aid organizations are still on the ground providing help to Palestinians, including the U.N. However, aid groups say that the supplies are not arriving fast enough. not arriving fast enough and after entering Gaza, the delivery is slowed down by logistical problems and the ongoing fighting. Israel denies that there is a shortage of food in Gaza and accuses the U.N. and other aid groups of not increasing the deliveries in the territory.
World Central Kitchen has been leading the two sea shipments that have reached Gaza so far. It is unclear how the sea corridor will continue without the group, but the president of Cyprus stated on Tuesday that more aid could be sent to Gaza from Cyprus “before the end of the month,” as the U.S. finishes building a floating pier off the Palestinian territory’s coastline.
President Nikos Christodoulides stated that the Cyprus-Gaza aid shipments “will continue as humanitarian needs are there.”
