Aid organizations suspend operations in Gaza after World Central Kitchen workers' deaths

abcnews.go.com:

Several humanitarian aid organizations have suspended operations in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen workers

NEW YORK — Several humanitarian aid organizations suspended operations in Gaza on Tuesday after Israeli airstrikes killed seven World Central Kitchen workers.

The nonprofits, including World Central Kitchen, said they now need to determine whether their workers can safely provide aid in the region. According to the United Nations, more than 180 humanitarian aid workers have died since the war began in October.

“We are horrified and heartbroken by the tragic killing of seven innocent humanitarians in Gaza,” said Chris Skopec, executive vice president of global health at Project HOPE, which operates health clinics in Rafah and Deir al-Balah and provides medical supplies and other aid to area hospitals.

The three World Central Kitchen vehicles, hit after loading up with food from a nearby warehouse, were clearly marked and their movements were known to the Israeli military, according to the organization.

Those steps are what humanitarian workers use to try to ensure their safety in the dangerous region, Skopec said. For the World Central Kitchen convoy to still be hit with military fire increased apprehension among aid workers in the region, he said.

“There needs to be accountability,” Skopec said. “The government of Israel needs to be able to give assurances that they consider aid workers legitimate actors in Gaza and that international law will be respected. We need to be able to do this critical, life-saving work safely.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the country’s forces had carried out the “unintended strike… on innocent people.” He said officials