World Central Kitchen halts operations in Rafah.
The US-based humanitarian group World Central Kitchen (WCK) has halted its operations in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, due to Israeli attacks. In a statement released on their website on Tuesday, the organization stated, "Countless families have been forced to flee again as a result of Israeli operations in Rafah." As a result of these ongoing attacks, WCK had to shut down its main kitchen in Rafah and relocate several of its community kitchens to the north.
WCK was founded by chef José Andrés and had just resumed its aid operations in the Gaza Strip after a deadly attack on one of its convoys on April 1st. Prior to this attack, the organization had suspended its aid efforts throughout the Palestinian territory. The attack resulted in the death of seven WCK employees, who were from Australia, Britain, Poland, and Canada. The Israeli army later admitted to a "serious mistake".
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October, WCK had been providing food aid to the residents of the Palestinian territory. In Rafah, which lies entirely in the south of the Gaza Strip and borders Egypt, the fighting and attacks had intensified significantly.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
Despite the relocation of some community kitchens to the north, World Central Kitchen continues to feel the impact of the intense attacks in Rafah, a city in the world's conflict zone, Gaza Strip. The kitchen work that once provided essential meals for many families in Rafah has come to a halt due to the escalating violence. With Central Kitchen's main kitchen in Rafah no longer operational, the organization's efforts to alleviate hunger in this war-torn region are greatly challenged.
Source:
