Chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen to resume Gaza operations after workers killed

World Central Kitchen announced it will resume operations in Gaza, nearly a month after seven of its staffers were killed in an Israeli air strike, triggering the humanitarian aid organization to temporarily suspend its work in the war-ravaged enclave.

The announcement comes four days after World Central Kitchen honored the seven slain staffers at a ceremony on Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

"We have been forced to make a decision: stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises ever, ending our operation that accounted for 62% of all International NGO aid, or keep feeding knowing that aid, aid workers, and civilians are being intimidated and killed," the organization wrote in a statement released on Sunday.

"Ultimately, we decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times," it said.

The seven workers were killed on April 1 after an Israeli drone struck their convoy as it left a warehouse in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah. Pictures showed that the two armored trucks carrying the workers were branded with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) logo, and the organization said it had coordinated the convoy's movements with the Israeli Defense Forces beforehand.

José Andrés remembers staffers in National Cathedral speech

Speaking at the ceremony on Thursday, WCK founder and celebrity chef José Andrés delivered an emotional eulogy for the seven workers – American and Canadian dual citizen Jacob Flickinger, 33, Australian citizen Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, 25-year-old Saifeddin Abutaha, of Gaza, Damian Soból, of Poland, and U.K. citizens John Chapman, 57, James Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47.

He reiterated his demand for an independent investigation into their deaths. "There is no excuse for these killings," he said. "None."

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WCK is now preparing 276 trucks carrying 8 million meals to enter through the Rafah Crossing in southern Gaza, while other trucks will enter from Jordan, according to the statement. The organization is also considering food delivery by ships that could sail through the maritime corridor and disembark at the Port of Ashdod, around 20 miles north of Gaza's border.

The organization will also add a third "high production" kitchen to its operations, in addition to its two existing locations in Rafah and Deir al-Balah, where the seven workers were killed, according to the statement. The new kitchen, located in Mawasi on Gaza's southern coast, will be nicknamed "Damian's kitchen" after Soból, one of the workers killed in the strike. WCK already maintains 68 community kitchens in Gaza.

World Central Kitchen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

WCK again demands independent investigation into strike

The organization also reiterated Andrés' demand for an "impartial and international investigation" into the strike.

An IDF investigation called the strike a "grave mistake," and led to the firing of two military officials involved. Andrés said the internal investigation was insufficient, and that the IDF cannot credibly investigate its own "failure."

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

Despite an apology from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the strike prompted President Biden to direct his harshest criticism towards Israel's military operations since the war began on Oct. 7.

"This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians," he said in a statement.

More:30,000-plus lives lost: Visualizing the death and destruction of Israel's war in Gaza

UN officials say famine 'imminent' in Gaza

The U.N. has warned of "imminent" famine in Gaza. A report released in March found that 1.1 million Palestinians, almost half of Gaza's population, are experiencing the highest levels of hunger on the U.N.'s scale. Out of 300,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza, 70% face "catastrophic hunger," it said.

Conditions in Gaza could pass all three thresholds of famine – "food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality" – in the next six weeks, Gian Caro Cirri, Geneva director of the World Food Programme, said on Wednesday.

The U.S. is urging Israel to come to an agreement that would increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. In a memo to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, some state department officials raised "serious questions" about Israel's possible violations of international law, including that the IDF has killed "humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate" and failed to thoroughly investigate or take action.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is constructing a floating pier three miles from Gaza's shore that officials say will allow more humanitarian aid shipments to enter the area. It will allow for the initial delivery of around 90 truckloads of aid into Gaza once construction is finished in early May, according to the Defense department.

David Satterfield, the U.S. special envoy for humanitarian issues, told reporters last Tuesday that although Israel had taken "significant steps" in the past two and a half weeks to allow in more aid, "there is still considerable work to be done."

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.

Contributing: Reuters