By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Michelle Nichols and Emily Rose
CAIRO (Reuters) – A U.S.-based charity, the World Central Kitchen, fired dozens of Palestinians working for the charity in the Gaza Strip, at least three workers told Reuters, after Israel said at least 62 staff were linked to militant groups.
In a message to staff, WCK confirmed that it had “made changes” after Israel demanded an investigation into its hiring practices in Gaza.
“This should not be taken as a conclusion by WCK that the individuals are affiliated with any terror organization,” it said, adding that Israel had not shared its intelligence and “we do not know the basis for Israel’s decision to flag these individuals.”
It said it had taken the step “to protect our team and our operations.” A WCK spokesperson confirmed 62 people had been let go.
An Israeli security official told Reuters that Israel had demanded an investigation into staff potentially linked to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, after it said a WCK employee identified as Ahed Azmi Qdeih took part in the attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.
Qdeih was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Nov. 30. WCK confirmed the airstrike at the time and said it had no knowledge about an employee involved in last year’s attack.
The official said an Israeli security review found that 62 WCK employees had “affiliations and direct connections” with militant groups.
“Consequently, senior Israeli officials demanded that WCK terminate the employment of those workers,” he said.
The Israeli allegations against WCK staff echo similar accusations against staff working for the main United Nations Palestinian relief body UNRWA. In August, the United Nations said nine UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attacks and had been fired.
Two WCK workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said they had been informed the termination was based on an Israeli assessment of the workers and came for “security reasons”, a term usually used to indicate links with Palestinian militant groups.
“They told me and others that Israel rejected us for security reasons. It is a joke,” one worker told Reuters, asking not to be named fearing Israeli reprisals.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Emily Rose and Michelle Nichols. Editing by Mark Potter)
Comments