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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.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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.
Washington — The House Ethics Committee has quietly voted to release its report on the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and obstruction, two sources familiar with the matter said, reversing course after Republicans originally blocked its release.
The report will likely be unveiled in the coming days, after the final votes of the 118th Congress, the sources said. Lawmakers face a Friday deadline to approve new government funding and avoid a shutdown before heading home for the holidays. CNN first reported on Thursday that the committee voted behind closed doors to release the report earlier this month.
House Republicans recently blocked two Democratic resolutions that would have compelled the Ethics Committee to release the potentially damaging report on its investigation into Gaetz, voting to refer the matter back to the committee.
Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after President-elect Donald Trump said he planned to nominate Gaetz to be attorney general in November. But Gaetz soon withdrew from consideration, facing a likely contentious confirmation process. Gaetz has said he does not intend to take the oath of office for the same seat in the 119th Congress, and is launching a new show on the pro-Trump One America News Network in January.
It’s highly unusual, but not unprecedented, for the House Ethics Committee to release a report on a member who is no longer in office. Congressional leaders, including some Democrats, have expressed concerns about the precedent set by unveiling the Gaetz report.
In June, the committee released a statement saying it was investigating allegations against Gaetz that included sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery.
Multiple sources at the time told CBS News that four women had informed the Ethics Committee that they had been paid to go to parties that included sex and drugs, and that Gaetz had also attended. The committee has Gaetz’s Venmo transactions that allegedly show payments for the women.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has called the committee’s investigation a “frivolous” smear campaign.
Some of the sexual misconduct allegations under review by the committee were the subject of a previous Department of Justice probe into Gaetz. Federal investigators sought to determine if Gaetz violated sex trafficking and obstruction of justice laws, but no charges were filed.
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Monkeys have been spotting roaming in unusual places in central Florida recently — and the police are warning residents to stay away.
The Orange City Police Department said on social media that it had received “multiple reports of monkey sightings” in the town, which is in Volusia County. People who see monkeys should not feed or approach them, the department said, but should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
A viral video from a river near Orange City, taken by a river tour operator, shows a monkey hanging out on a wooded bank.
“I looked up into a tree and kind of went, ‘What’s that!?'” Colin Innes of St. John’s River Eco Tours, told CBS affiliate WKMG. “I got a little bit closer and realized that I had a monkey probably about 30 feet from me. And trust me, that’s not something you see out here on a regular basis whatsoever, so I was shocked.”
Meanwhile, a Volusia County elementary school principal had to warn parents about a monkey after seeing one run through the school’s drop-off area on Wednesday, according to WKMG.
An area woman told WKMG that she saw a monkey climbing on her fence. First, she thought the animal was a cat, but then she realized how large it was.
“I have three cats and so I looked at his body and was like, ‘Wow that’s really big,'” said Evelyn Coira Arquette. “I mean, we’re talking about four feet probably long.”
Officials have not commented on what species of monkey is being spotted. WKMG said officials have not confirmed if residents are spotting multiple monkeys or if they’re seeing the same primate in multiple locations.
Police have told residents not to feed the monkeys, which is prohibited by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rule passed in 2017. Monkeys are more likely to return to an area and may become aggressive if they are fed by people, WKMG reported.
Residents should also take care to dispose of uneaten food and garbage in closed trash containers, so monkeys can’t access them. Any sightings should be reported, and if a monkey is seen in the area, children should be kept close and pets should be leashed. If bitten or scratched by a wild monkey, seek medical attention immediately.
Last month, 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. Four of the monkeys are reportedly still on the loose.