World Central Kitchen says Palestinian member killed in Gaza

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- World Central Kitchen said a Palestinian team member has been killed in central Gaza , further highlighting the casualties incurred by humanitarian workers in the conflict.

The U.S. based charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés said Wednesday that Nadi Sallout had died overnight near Deir al-Balah.

"He was an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core," World Central Kitchen said in a statement on X.

"We are still learning the details of this tragedy, but believe he was off duty at the time. Our thoughts and support are with Nadi's family and the rest of our dedicated team around the world as we mourn this tremendous loss."

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was not aware of any casualties involving workers of the organization, Britain-based Middle East Eye news organization reported .

Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children International, described Sallout's death on X as "horrific."

"Let's be clear -- there has been no improvement in the safety of aid workers in Gaza," she said . "Aid workers like Nadi Sallout are killed under Israeli military ops every week with ZERO accountability. You'd think the unprecedented number of aid works killed would trigger some sort of action but the int'l community has normalized it."

According to the United Nations' refugee agency , between the start of the war and April 30, at least 254 aid workers were killed in Gaza.

Sallout's death comes some four months after seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their convoy April 1.

The victims were three British nationals, an American-Canadian, a Palestinian, a Pole and an Australian.

The attack attracted international condemnation, and marked a shift in the Biden administration increasing its public criticism of Israel for its methods of war in the Palestinian enclave.

After the strike, World Central Kitchen paused operations in the war zone but resumed them before the end of the month.

The food charity has been operating in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7 when Iran-backed Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel.

It has provided nearly 60 million meals in the besieged enclaved in that time.

Last week, it said in an update that challenges facing its operation were multiplying, with areas near their kitchens having become points of focus for Israeli military operations, preventing some locations from receiving resupplies of ingredients and equipment.

Eleven of its kitchen had ceased operations and another eight had been cut off from aid, it said.