“We benefit greatly from local expertise, with experienced staff informing all the decisions that we make,” he said. “We also have a field security plan, with analysis of the risks in Gaza and the steps we can take to make sure we keep all staff as safe as possible. As a part of our approach, we share the locations of our operations with the IDF so they know that we’re humanitarians and should not be targeted.”
In the fog of war, however, security plans are not foolproof. According to a WCK statement, the workers killed on Monday had also coordinated their movement with the IDF, were traveling in a “deconflicted zone,” and were in vehicles marked as humanitarian aid.
Though WCK founder Jose Andrés has accused the IDF of intentionally targeting the humanitarian workers, the IDF has said that “it was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night during a war in very complex conditions.”
Nonetheless, Knapp told CNA that CRS is “advocating to ensure full respect of sites and movements” of official humanitarian workers.
Meanwhile, Chloe Mata Crane, a representative for WCK, told CNA that in response to this week’s killings, all of the group’s ships carrying food and humanitarian aid have returned to the island of Cyprus, which is some 359 miles away from Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea.
Crane said that “a determination has not yet been made about when to resume operations in Gaza.”
Of the seven workers killed, one, Polish citizen Damian Soból, was a Catholic. Soból’s hometown Archdiocese of Przemyśl held a memorial Mass and procession in his honor on Thursday at the Cathedral of Przemyśl.
In response to the killings, Pope Francis once again called for an end to hostilities in Gaza and said he was praying for the victims and their families.
“I reiterate my firm call for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip,” the pontiff said. “I express my deep sorrow for the volunteers who were killed while distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza. I pray for them and their families.”
Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.
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