WCK - Jose Andres We're going back to Gaza to feed people. Here's what we need from Israel. [View all]

[Nanjeanne]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/30/jose-andres-gaza-feeding-palestinians/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social]

This week, we are restarting our operations at scale: We have 276 trucks, representing almost 8 million meals, ready to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing in the south. We are also sending trucks from Jordan as we push to distribute food into northern Gaza, where the situation is most dire.

SNIP

We expect and insist that the Israel Defense Forces protect and respect the lives and work of our Palestinian team members, just like citizens from other nations.

That sort of treatment has been rare since we have been in the region. For example, though every team member is vetted and cleared before every food delivery mission, our Palestinian team members have been stripped and humiliated by Israeli soldiers while engaged in work that has been coordinated with, and approved by, the IDF.

Our convoys have been held up at IDF checkpoints for hours on end, despite coordination with the Israeli government groups who run point on humanitarian aid.

SNIP

My hope and my prayer are that the names of our seven heroes will be remembered and mourned in Israel, as they are in Gaza, Britain, Canada, Australia and Poland.

Sharing our grief is as human as sharing our food. It’s a small step toward healing and hope in a world that desperately needs both.