WCK workers killed in IDF strike memorialized at Washington National Cathedral ceremony

Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello as, front row from left, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Sen. Chris Van Hollen D-Md., Katherine Wilkins, Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valls Noyes and Suzy George, look on, at the National Cathedral, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello as, front row from left, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Sen. Chris Van Hollen D-Md., Katherine Wilkins, Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valls Noyes and Suzy George, look on, at the National Cathedral, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Celebrity Chef Jose Andres called seven aid workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza “the best of humanity” on Thursday during a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral that was attended by hundreds, and punctuated by grief and ongoing questions about the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel mistakenly killed the seven people working for Andres’ charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an airstrike earlier this month, prompting worldwide condemnation and a demand by US President Joe Biden to make it easier to get aid into Gaza or risk a shift in US support.

Andres told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that the Israeli attack targeted them “systematically, car by car.”

At today’s service he praised each of the workers — Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol — during an emotional eulogy, his voice cracking repeatedly.

“The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat,” he says, referring to residents of Gaza. “They risked everything to feed people they did not know.”

Chef Jose Andres, founder of the American NGO World Central Kitchen, speaks during the World Central Kitchen’s memorial service at the National Cathedral, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“They were the best of humanity. Their examples should inspire us to do better, to be better,” he says.

Andres says WCK continues to demand an investigation into the actions of the Israeli forces against its workers, and that the official explanation was not good enough.

“There is no excuse for these killings. None,” he says.

The service included readings and prayers from the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions and a musical tribute by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

More than 500 people attended, including families of the victims, WCK staff, U.S. officials and diplomats from more than 30 countries, according to a WCK representative.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff represented the White House, while Biden was traveling in New York.

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