On a brand new episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert emphasised the necessity to “talk about what everyone’s talking about” and opened the present by commenting on the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen employees in Gaza this week.
“I hope there is one thing we can all agree on: human beings should have food and water,” Colbert mentioned after acknowledging the huge divisions in opinions on the present battle between Israel and Hamas. “Here’s the thing, on Monday seven World Central Kitchen aide workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Our thoughts are with the families and the loved ones of these heroes.”
The host learn off the employees’ names, including “How could something like this happen? Despite the fact that the World Central Kitchen coordinated their movements with the Israeli military and the team was leaving the warehouse in central Gaza after unloading shipments of food, they were hit by multiple precision Israeli drone strikes.”
Colbert recounted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu’s response to the assault, during which he claimed, “This happens in war.” “Then maybe consider ending the war,” Colbert replied. “Because this is not an isolated incident.”
He defined that greater than 200 worldwide aide employees have been killed in Gaza because the begin of the battle, in addition to 1000’s of harmless folks. Colbert famous that World Central Kitchen is “near and dear” to his coronary heart because it’s led by his good friend José Andrés. “They get in there with the food and they do the job,” he mentioned of WCK, which doesn’t take sides of their efforts to feed folks in locations of catastrophe. “They’re like Seal Team DoorDash.”
“Instead of being welcomed they have been attacked by the IDF and Hamas has hauled members of their team in for interrogation,” Colbert continued. “So whatever you think should happen in Israel and Gaza, I hope we can all agree that people should be allowed to eat.”
The WCK employees have been touring in two armored vehicles branded with the charity’s brand in a de-conflicted zone once they have been killed, WCK mentioned in a statement issued Tuesday morning. “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 confirmed.
Yesterday, Andrés mentioned in an interview with Reuters that the employees have been focused “systematically, car by car.” “This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andrés mentioned. “Even if we were not in coordination with the [Israel Defense Forces], no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians.”
The founder additionally revealed an op-ed in The New York Times on Wednesday, remembering the victims as greater than “generic aid workers or collateral damage in war.”
“In the worst conditions you can imagine — after hurricanes, earthquakes, bombs and gunfire — the best of humanity shows up. Not once or twice but always,” Andrés wrote. “The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless or nameless.”
