At least five workers from the NGO founded and directed by the Spanish chef José Andrés died in Gaza in an aerial bombardment carried out by the Israeli armed forces. Andrs himself confirmed the deaths in a message on the social network “The Israeli government must put an end to these indiscriminate killings.” The chef, born in Mieres (Asturias) in 1969, asked the Israeli government to «stop limiting humanitarian aid», not to continue «using food as a weapon» and to «stop killing civilians and humanitarian workers». According to the Palestinian newspaper ‘Filastin’, among the five dead there would be a British aid worker, another Polish and a third Australian. ELMUNDO.es tried unsuccessfully to contact the chef to obtain more information.
Andrs NGO, Central World Cuisine (Central Kitchen of the World) operates in conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters, usually in collaboration with local kitchens and restaurants. It has been operating in Gaza since the beginning of the war. According to Andrés, he distributed 40 million rations in the area since the start of hostilities. The World Central Kitchen also operated in Israel after the wave of Hamas attacks on 7 October, which caused 1,143 deaths in the Jewish state – two thirds of them civilians – as well as 248 kidnapped and missing. Since then, the war has claimed the lives of approximately 33,000 Palestinians, including more than 25,000 civilians.
World Central Kitchen partnered with the ship «Open Arms» to deliver food to Gaza by sea. Andrés, who has visited the region several times, had previously warned of the danger of Israeli bombing of organizations providing humanitarian aid in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in the region is desperate with a growing risk of widespread famine and chaos, which threatens to transform Gaza into a chaotic territory ruled by armed gangs.
For Israel, the deaths of the World Central Kitchen aid workers could represent a new problem in its relations with the government Joe Biden. Although he has never been politically involved, Andrés has excellent relations with the Democratic Party and held honorary positions in the governments of Barack Obama (ambassador of Ciudadana) and Biden (co-president of the Council for Sports, Health and Nutrition). His relations with Donald Trump They were worse than sad, and both sued each other for several million dollars after Andrés broke his contract to run a restaurant in the former president’s hotel in Washington after the former president called immigrants Mexicans «thieves» and «rapists» in June. 2015. Now that Trump has sold the hotel, Andrés has not only opened the restaurant but, as this newspaper has learned, he is one of the investors in the new hotel.
