An Israeli air strike targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicle as it transported food supplies along Salah al-Din Road in Khan Younis, eyewitnesses reported.
The raid killed three workers from the international NGO, which had already seen seven aid workers – mostly foreign nationals – killed in an Israeli strike in April, drawing global condemnation.
When two bystanders tried to help the aid workers after the strike, they were also targeted and killed.
“The vehicle carried rice and other food supplies,” Tamer Sammour, an eyewitness, told Middle East Eye, adding, “I retrieved the World Central Kitchen equipment from the scene, including a list of those scheduled to receive the aid.”
Mohammed Abu Abed, a Khan Younis resident, identified one of the two men killed in the second strike as Adel Sammour.
“He asked me last night for bread, but I couldn’t help him,” Abu Abed told MEE, noting, “The two men were farmers heading to work to make ends meet.”
“They were waiting to be picked up for work when the first strike hit the vehicle nearby,” he continued, stating, “When they tried to assist, they were also targeted and killed.
“They were just trying to make a living. They were innocent.”
The Israeli military confirmed the targeted strike, claiming without evidence that a “terrorist” inside the “civilian unmarked vehicle” had been killed.
The death toll since October 2023 rose to 44,382, with 105,142 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry reported. Nearly 70 percent of the victims are children and women, according to the UN.
