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World Central Kitchen resuming Gaza operations weeks after deadly strike
World Central Kitchen will restart its operations in Gaza four weeks after seven aid workers were killed by Israeli air strikes, the organization announced on Sunday.
The nonprofit, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, suspended its operations delivering vital food aid in Gaza after the killings. Before the April 1 strike, which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, the organization had sent around two tons of food to Gaza. The organization has 276 trucks, filled with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire,” World Central Kitchen said in a statement. “We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible.”
World Central Kitchen said food will be sent in by whatever means possible, including land, air and sea. The organization has dozens of community kitchens along with high-production kitchens in the Gazan cities of Rafah and Deir al Balah. Construction on a third high-production kitchen in Mawasi is underway.
“WCK has built a strong team of Palestinians to carry the torch forward,” the organization said. “Our model has always been to work hand in hand with the community: Puerto Ricans feeding Puerto Ricans; Moroccans feeding Moroccans; Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians; and now, Palestinians feeding Palestinians.”
U.S.-Canadian dual national Jacob Flickinger, 33, was among those killed in the April 1 incident. The other WCK staff members killed in the attack, which Israel’s military called a “grave mistake,” were identified as Palestinian, British, Polish and Australian nationals.
The Israeli military on April 5 announced that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in the deadly drone strikes, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.
“The incident should not have occurred,” the IDF said in a statement summarizing retired general Yoav Har-Even’s seven-page findings. “Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees. The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.”
WCK noted the IDF had apologized and said they had changed their rules of operation.
“While we have no concrete assurances, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the goal of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers serving selflessly in the worst humanitarian conditions,” World Central Kitchen said Sunday. “Our demand for an impartial and international investigation remains.”
People across war-torn Gaza are starving. A third of children under the age of two in Gaza are currently acutely malnourished, according to the U.N. children’s charity UNICEF. International aid agencies say over 1 million people — half of Gaza’s population — are now in the midst of a famine. World Central Kitchen noted that it had been forced to decide between stopping aid during a hunger crisis or resuming aid, knowing that aid workers would be at risk.
“These are the hardest conversations and we have considered all perspectives when deliberating,” WCK said. “Ultimately, we decided that we must keep feeding, continuing our mission of showing up to provide food to people during the toughest of times.”
Israel has accused Hamas of preventing at least some of the aid that has entered Gaza from reaching the people who need it.
CBS News
Frontier flight catches fire while landing at Las Vegas airport
A Frontier flight appeared to catch fire as the plane was landing Saturday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cell phone video showed flames and billows of smoke on the plane’s undercarriage as it touched down on the runway. Fire trucks and other emergency service vehicles rushed onto the runway, as smoke continued to surround the plane.
“Frontier flight 1326 experienced a hard landing,” a spokesperson for the airport confirmed to CBS News. “The Clark County Fire Department responded immediately and all passengers and crew have been safely transported to the gated area. No injuries were reported.”
Frontier Flight 1326 left San Diego at 1:51 p.m. Pacific Time and landed at Las Vegas at 3:37 p.m., according to Flight Aware.
“The pilots detected smoke and declared an emergency,” a spokesperson for Frontier Airlines confirmed to CBS News. “The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew were evacuated via airstairs. No injuries were reported, and passengers have been bussed to the terminal. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.”
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$100 million in federal funds released for North Carolina to rebuild roads, bridges damaged by Helene
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation released $100 million in emergency funds on Saturday for North Carolina to rebuild its roads and bridges damaged by Helene.
“We are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources.”
The storm caused rampant flooding that has devastated several towns and killed more than 225 people – with CBS News confirming at least 114 people killed in North Carolina. There was more than 8 inches of rain across the western North Carolina mountains, with some areas seeing more than a foot.
Hundreds of roads across Western North Carolina remain closed, leading to an increase in air traffic as teams scour the region for survivors by air. Air traffic over Western North Carolina has increased by 300% due to relief efforts since the storm cleared, the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Mudslides blocked Interstate 40 and other highways in North Carolina and about 400 roads were closed due to damage from Helene. Interstate 40 was damaged at several locations, the Department of Transportation said.
President Biden visited the Carolinas on Wednesday, surveying the flood damage by air from Greenville, South Carolina, to Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. Biden announced the federal government would cover “100%” of all debris removal and emergency protective measure costs in North Carolina for six months.
The Department of Transportation said these relief funds will allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to act more quickly to fund eligible repairs to their damaged facilities.
Li Cohen and
contributed to this report.