Dozens of World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza fired due to terror ties

The American aid group World Central Kitchen (WCK) has fired dozens of Gazan workers due to ties with terrorist groups, three workers told the Reuters news outlet. Israel estimates at least 62 of the WCK workers are affiliated with Hamas and other terrorist organizations. 

WCK confirmed in an official statement that it has “made changes” after the Israeli government demanded a probe into the recruitment process of workers in the Gaza Strip. 

“This should not be taken as a conclusion by WCK that the individuals are affiliated with any terror organization,” WCK stated while arguing that Israel had not shared its intelligence with the organization. 

“We do not know the basis for Israel’s decision to flag these individuals,” WCK claimed. The aid organization further said that it has implemented steps “to protect our team and our operations.” WCK confirmed that it had fired 62 individuals. However, this is not an isolated incident. 

On Dec. 1, the Israeli military eliminated terrorist Ahed Azmi Qudeih in an aerial strike for his ties to Hamas and its massacre of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, simultaneously worked for World Central Kitchen in Gaza.

WCK denied that it knew Qudeih was involved in the attack against Israeli civilians. 

“World Central Kitchen had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7th Hamas attack,” WCK stated on its website. “World Central Kitchen is pausing operations in Gaza at this time. Our hearts are with our colleagues and their families in this unimaginable moment.”

While the Israeli military does not deliberately target civilians, mistakes happen, especially in dense urban areas like Gaza, where Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists systematically embed themselves in civilian settings like hospitals, schools, mosques, residential buildings and ambulances.

In early April, Israel confirmed the “tragic” mistake that led to the killing of seven WCK employees who were inaccurately identified as active terrorist threats. 

WCK CEO Erin Gore strongly condemned the Israeli aerial strike.

“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 stated. 

WCK is not the only aid organization that has been infiltrated by Hamas and other terrorist organizations. In January, the United States and several other donor nations temporarily suspended financial aid to UNRWA after Israel provided incriminating evidence that several of its employees are affiliated with Hamas and participated in the Oct. 7 massacre. 

Israeli intelligence has estimated that at least 10% of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza are affiliated with terrorism. 

Several testimonies from former Israeli hostages have confirmed that UNRWA employees in Gaza held them imprisoned during their captivity.

In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that “UNRWA officials were complicit in the massacre.”