DFA not aware of any Irish citizen caught up in attack on aid workers in Gaza

James Cox

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it has not been made aware of any Irish citizen caught up in an attack on aid workers in Gaza.

Seven people working with the US charity World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Rumours had been circulating online that an Irish citizen was among them.

The team, which included members from Poland and Britain, was travelling in vehicles branded with its logo.

People gather around the carcass of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen, that was hit by an Israeli strike the previous day in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 2nd. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Hamas has also blamed Israel, which is now "conducting a thorough review".

The aid workers had been delivering food to starving citizens in Gaza. World Central Kitchen said its aid workers were traveling in a “deconflicted zone”.

“Despite coordinating movements with the IDF, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” the group said in a statement.

People gather around the carcass of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen, that was hit by an Israeli strike the previous day in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 2nd. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we – World Central Kitchen and the world – lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF,” World Central Kitchen chief executive Erin Gore said in the statement.

Ms Gore added: "“The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished."