The World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack occurred on 1 April 2024, when Israeli drones targeted a three-car convoy belonging to World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the Gaza Strip, killing seven aid workers. The workers had been overseeing the transfer of a shipment of food from a makeshift pier to a warehouse some distance away in the northern Gaza Strip, which has been pushed close to famine by Israel's invasion and blockade during the Gaza war. There were British, Australian, Polish, Palestinian, and dual American-Canadian nationals among the deceased workers.
The attack occurred the week after a unanimous International Court of Justice ruling in the ongoing Genocide Convention case that ordered Israel to ensure the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza. The Israeli military (IDF) acknowledged that their drone operators fired three missiles in five minutes at three of the WCK's cars, with some survivors of the first strike boarding the second car, which was minutes later hit by a second missile. Some survivors of the second strike boarded the third car, which was in turn struck by a third missile. All seven aid workers were killed, and their bodies were sent to Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital.
Despite the convoy's route having been coordinated in advance, the Israeli military claimed it had been targeting unauthorized gunmen but admitted its commanders had misidentified their location, failed to properly disseminate information about the convoy, and violated rules of engagement by striking all three cars in succession. Two officers were dismissed and three more reprimanded. WCK founder, Spanish chef José Andrés, accused Israel of deliberately attacking the convoy; the group argued that the military could not credibly investigate itself and called for an independent inquiry. While noting serious failings on the part of the IDF, an Australian Government report largely supported the Israeli position. The attack drew widespread international condemnation, including accusations that the attack was a war crime, and led WCK and other humanitarian organizations to pause their operations in Gaza. Statements made by the Israeli ambassador in Poland on the incident led to a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
The Israeli government announced on 19 August 2026 that they would not prosecute the perpetrators.
Background
On 27 October 2023 Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in response to the October 7 attacks. A severe humanitarian crisis has developed since the start of the invasion with healthcare in a state of collapse and shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel caused by the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip has had limited humanitarian aid allowed through Israeli controlled checkpoints which has exacerbated the crisis. The drone strikes came hours after the WCK charity, which was also delivering food services in Israel after 7 October, brought a shipload of 100 tonnes of food from Cyprus to the northern Gaza Strip.
In March 2024, experts, such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, warned that Gaza might already be experiencing famine; while Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International, stated that "large-scale famine mortality" would soon begin. Widespread civilian deaths in Gaza and the initial 7 October attack have led to accusations of war crimes against Israel and Hamas. There have been a number of reported attacks on civilian aid seekers and workers, with more than 173 UNRWA staff killed by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.
There has been rhetoric by Israeli politicians against the distribution of aid in Gaza. Giora Eiland, a retired Major General, wrote: "In order to make the siege effective, we have to prevent others from assisting in Gaza." His words were quoted by the South African delegation at the ICJ.
Three days before the killings the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ruled unanimously, in response to a second South African request for additional provisional measures in the ongoing Genocide Convention case, ordering Israel to increase the flow of aid into Gaza "without delay" to allow the "provision... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance". In the ruling the ICJ said Gaza was "no longer facing only a risk of famine" but "famine is setting in" and that, according to UN observers, 31 people, including 27 children, had already died of malnutrition and dehydration.
Two days before the drone strikes, a car of the WCK was hit by an IDF sniper. The WCK filed a complaint with Israel over this incident and demanded a guarantee of safety of their workers.
Incident
On 1 April 2024, targeted Israeli drone strikes killed seven WCK aid workers, who were travelling in three of the WCK's cars in the Gaza Strip. Sky News estimates that the strikes occurred between 10:30 and 11 pm. Since the wreckages of the cars were around 2.5 km (1.6 mi) apart, The Washington Post reported that this indicated that some of the cars were able to continue driving after the attack began, and Financial Times concluded that the cars were "hit separately".
World Central Kitchen said that it had coordinated its movements with the Israeli Defense Force when the convoy was hit. WCK said the strike occurred despite vehicle logos and "coordinating movements" with Israeli forces in the "deconflicted zone".
Haaretz, citing Israeli defense sources, described that after a drone missile hit one World Central Kitchen car, some of this car's passengers boarded another World Central Kitchen car, which "continued to drive and even notified the people responsible that they were attacked, but, seconds later", this car was also hit by a drone missile; finally the third car picked up some of the wounded from the second car, then a third drone missile struck the third car.
Victims
Seven people were killed; they were recovered by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in a "challenging operation" and taken to Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. The victims were seen wearing protective gear showing the charity's logo. They were taken to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in southern Gaza to be evacuated to Egypt.
Among the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were confirmed British, Australian, Polish, Palestinian, and dual American-Canadian nationals. The three British victims worked for Solace Global, a security company based in Poole, Dorset, England.
The casualties were:
- Saif Abu Taha (Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha), a 26-year-old Palestinian local from Rafah, who had worked as a driver for WCK since the start of the year.
- John Antony Chapman, a 57-year-old British national who had served in the Royal Marines, was a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual Canadian-American citizen from Quebec. He was a former soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces as an infantryman in the Royal 22nd Regiment.
- Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, a 43-year-old Australian national. She was born in Melbourne and grew up in Sydney, before returning to Melbourne to undertake a psychology degree at Swinburne University of Technology. While working at the Commonwealth Bank for eight years, she supported the Indigenous women's organisation NPY Women's Council in the Northern Territory as well as the refugee support charity One Step. In 2019 she moved to the US to work with WCK, for which she traveled around the world, including feeding emergency personnel and displaced people during Australia's Black Summer bushfires in 2019–2020. The Zomi Frankcom Humanitarian Award was established on World Humanitarian Day on 19 August 2026.
- James Henderson, a 33-year-old British national who had served in the Royal Marines, was a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- James Kirby, a 47-year-old British national. He was a former soldier and a private security contractor with Solace Global.
- Damian Soból, a 35-year-old Polish national from Przemyśl. Soból had worked with the WCK since 2022, engaging in relief efforts in Russian-invaded Ukraine. In February 2023, he traveled to earthquake-stricken Elbistan in Turkey with aid. In September 2023, he helped earthquake victims in Morocco. He then helped Gaza refugees in Egypt and later in Gaza itself.
Perpetrators
The IDF identified two of its soldiers who it said were responsible for the killings, and whom it fired. The senior of the two is commander Nochi Mendel, a West Bank illegal settler and "religious nationalist". In January 2024, Mandel, along with 130 other IDF reserve officers and commanders, signed an open letter imploring that Gaza be deprived of humanitarian aid and that "humanitarian supplies and the operation of hospitals inside Gaza City" not be allowed. Leading UK barrister Michael Mansfield reckoned the letter "is plainly relevant to a particular state of mind" of those behind the bombings, indicating that "the target of the Israeli army is [not] primarily Hamas but Gaza as a whole by weaponising aid under siege conditions."
In August 2026, after the IDF ruled out prosecuting the soldiers involved in the killings, Mendel told Australian ABC News that "I'm not sorry for what I did," and alleged "an intermingling between the WCK and Hamas operatives". He said that nobody from the aid organization was meant to be killed. He claimed he recalled seeing what he described as armed "terrorists" entering trucks escorted by WCK vehicles, them firing weapons, and mingling with the aid workers. The World Central Kitchen answered that Mandel's allegations were false and amount to an "attempt to shift blame away from the IDF's own actions".
Countries, officials, and organizations that denounced the attack include: the European Commission, Iran, Jordan, the United Nations's emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths, Norwegian Refugee Council, Open Arms, who were delivering food with WCK, Scotland, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and World Food Programme Chief Cindy McCain.
World Central Kitchen
José Andrés, the founder of the World Central Kitchen charity, wrote: "I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people... angels... I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia. They are not faceless... they are not nameless." He called on Israel to stop "indiscriminate killing," continuing that "It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon."
In a separate statement, Andrés said: "The air strikes on our convoy were not just some unfortunate mistake in the fog of war. It was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the IDF." Andrés made another video statement in which he accused the IDF of systematically and deliberately targeting aid workers to kill everyone in the convoy. He demanded a neutral entity above the IDF conduct the investigation.
WCK chief executive Erin Gore said: "This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable." Gore continued: "We—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF."
Victims' relatives
The family of Zomi Frankcom expressed to The Sydney Morning Herald their demands for an investigation and war crimes charges for those found culpable. The parents of Jacob Flickinger called his death a "crime", they rejected Israel's apology, requested an independent investigation and for the US to cease providing military aid to Israel while they use "food as a weapon". James Henderson's brother said that the killings of people on a humanitarian mission was "inexcusable". "Accountability is the only hope of justice I have", he said. "I don't believe our government will hold the correct people to account, but I guarantee that our government will sell weapons to Israel, which may in turn be used to kill our fellow citizens. It's hard to comprehend that."
Israel
An Israeli military source told army radio that the attack was "the worst Israel has seen in the war." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as a tragic incident where Israeli forces unintentionally hit innocent people. The IDF said that it is "conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident." The IDF eventually took responsibility and apologized, saying that the Israeli attack was "a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night".
Hamas
Hamas condemned the drone strikes in a statement and urged the international community to take action: "This crime once again confirms that the occupation continues its policy of deliberate killing of innocent civilians, international relief teams, and humanitarian organizations, in its efforts to terrorize those working in them and prevent them from carrying out their humanitarian duties."