Three British former servicemen – John Chapman, 57, James (Jim) Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47 – were among the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers killed in an Israeli strike on an aid convoy in Gaza on Monday, according to the charity.
Chapman and Henderson previously served in the Royal Marines, while Kirby was an army veteran. The trio worked in security roles for WCK and were employed by the Cornwall-based firm Solace Global.
Reports state that Henderson, a former Royal Marine special forces operator from Cornwall, had been scheduled to leave Gaza on the day of the attack after arriving there with the charity on March 27.
The other victims were identified as Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25 (Palestinian territories); Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom, 43 (Australia); Damian Soból, 35 (Poland); and Jacob Flickinger, 33 (US/Canada national).
The aid workers were in a clearly marked WCK convoy providing meals in Deir al-Balah when it was struck by three missiles from an Israeli drone, despite the non-profit coordinating its movements. While acknowledging the “unintentional” deaths, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stated the convoy was mistakenly hit.
WCK has paused Gaza operations following the incident. Its CEO condemned the “indiscriminate killing” of its “heroes”, while founder Jose Andres called the victims “angels” and said he was “heartbroken”.
