World Central Kitchen (WCK) on Tuesday confirmed an IDF statement that terrorists in the Gaza Strip had been caught posing as members of the organization.
The IDF announced earlier in the day that in a targeted airstrike last week, five armed terrorists were eliminated while near a vehicle marked with the emblem of WCK, despite having no affiliation with the organization, and while posing a threat to Israeli troops.
The military stated that the terrorists deliberately affixed the emblem and wore yellow vests in an attempt to conceal their activity and avoid being targeted, cynically exploiting the status and trust afforded to aid organizations.
WCK later issued a statement of its own in which it said, “Earlier this week, a group of armed persons were seen in Gaza posing as World Central Kitchen team members. WCK was contacted by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and confirmed the vehicle and persons of interest were not affiliated with WCK.”
“We strongly condemn anyone posing as WCK or other humanitarians as this endangers civilians and aid workers. The safety and security of our teams are our top priority,” added the organization.
In April of 2024, seven WCK aid workers were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. Then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said after the strike that it was a case of misidentification and the strikes were not meant to harm WCK workers.
The IDF later dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the incident.
As a result of the fatal air strike, WCK temporarily halted its food distributions in Gaza, but resumed those distributions about a month later.
In December of 2024, WCK dismissed dozens of Palestinian Arab staff members working in Gaza after Israel said that at least 62 of them had links to terrorist groups.