SPANISH chef Jose Andres on Thursday paid tribute to seven of his aid workers who were killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month, calling them ‘the best of humanity’.
Andres made the comments during the victims’ memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral, before a congregation of hundreds of people.
The seven aid workers were working for Andres’s charity World Central Kitchen when they were ‘mistakenly’ attacked by Israeli forces using a drone on April 1.
The victims’ names were Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol, according to news agency Reuters.
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The Cathedral was adorned with flags from the victims’ countries of origin: the UK, Palestine, Poland, the US, Canada and Australia.
“The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat,” said Andres during his eulogy, in reference to his teams’ efforts to feed the residents of Gaza in the wake of the military offensive by Israel.
“They risked everything to feed people they did not know,” he continued, his voice cracking as he spoke. “They were the best of humanity. Their examples should inspire us to do better, to be better,” he added.
The celebrity chef, who was born in Spain’s Asturias but now has American citizenship, also repeated his calls for an investigation into the actions of Israel.
“There is no excuse for these killings,” he said.
