The World Central Kitchen founder spoke to “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
Chef José Andrés claimed that Israel is committing a “war against humanity itself” during an exclusive interview with “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, in the wake of an Israeli drone attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers.
The Israeli military said Friday that its air strike in Gaza that killed aid workers on April 1 came after Israeli forces said they misidentified a WCK worker in the convoy as a Hamas militant. Israel has been waging a war against Hamas in Gaza in the six months since the group's terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapping about 250 others.
Watch the full interview with Jose Andrés on ABC's “This Week” Sunday morning.
In all, at least 1,700 people were killed in Israel and 8,700 were injured, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. In Gaza, more than 33,000 people were killed and about 76,000 others were injured, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Andres disputed the IDF's findings about the convoy raid, telling Raddatz: “Every time something happens, we cannot bring Hamas into the equation.”
“This is no longer about the seven men and women at World Central Kitchen who died in this unfortunate event. This has been happening for a very long time. It's been six months of targeting anything that seemed to move,” Andres said.
He added, “This does not appear to be a war against terrorism. It no longer appears to be a war to defend Israel. In fact, at this stage, it is a war against humanity itself.”
The Israeli military bombed a convoy of three WCK vehicles on the night of April 1 after it left the Deir al-Balah warehouse in central Gaza, where aid workers helped unload more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid brought into Gaza via the sea route. According to WCK. The vehicles were spread out in various locations spanning about 1.5 miles, according to an ABC News analysis of footage from the scene and satellite images.
The results published by the Israeli army on Friday said that three raids targeted the convoy. She also said that WCK workers who were injured in the first vehicle were injured again as they moved to another vehicle in the convoy. The IDF confirmed that the relief group had properly coordinated their movements with them in advance, but acknowledged that Israeli officials had failed to brief its brigade on the coordinated humanitarian operation.
“The results of the investigation indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the raid were convinced that it was targeting armed Hamas activists and not WCK employees,” the IDF said, describing the raid as “a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to wrong identification.” “Errors in decision making, and an attack that violates standard operating procedures.”
When asked by Raddatz if he was satisfied with the report's findings, Andres thanked the IDF for conducting “such a quick investigation” despite calling for a more comprehensive and independent investigation.
“I will say something very complicated, the investigation should be much deeper,” he said. “I would say that the perpetrator cannot investigate himself.”
US officials are reviewing Israel's report “very carefully” and “will discuss its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organizations in the coming days,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Friday.
Based on the investigation's findings, the IDF fired two officers, suspended two commanders, and reprimanded three others for their role in the attack, according to military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari.
“This is a tragedy,” Hagari told reporters on Friday. “It was a terrible series of mistakes, and it should never have happened. The IDF bears full responsibility for this unfortunate loss of life.”