World Central Kitchen aid workers Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Zomi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby and Damian Soból were killed by Israeli airstrikes on April 1. CNN’s Chris Wallace condemned the deaths Saturday morning on “The Chris Wallace Show” and shared his personal connection to the aid organization: his daughter previously served as one of the organization’s workers. Wallace said that “there’s got to be some way Israel can fight this war without killing so many innocents.”
Wallace began the clip by acknowledging that he wanted to deliver a personal opinion as part of his “Tell Me Why I’m Wrong” segment. He began, “For six months, we’ve witnessed the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the IDF striking back at Hamas after it killed more than 1,000 Israelis in that savage attack on Oct. 7. For some, that’s the collateral damage of war. For others, it’s a slaughter that violates every rule of humanity.”
Wallace then introduced a clip of World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés, who said, “Humanitarians and civilians should never be paying the consequences of war. This is a basic principle of humanity. At the time this looks like it’s not a war against terrorism anymore, it seems it’s a war against humanity itself.”
“Now let me be clear,” Wallace added. “The deaths of seven aid workers are no more tragic than the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinian men, women, and children, but for me this is personal. I’ve known José for years.” The screen then showed a photo of several smiling aid workers.
“A world-famous chef, he’s made it his mission to feed people in need as an act of love. Two years ago, my daughter Catherine volunteered at World Central Kitchen to help feed Ukrainian refugees who fled to Poland — she’s the woman on the far right. And that man in the center, Damian Soból — who Catherine says, was incredibly kind — he is one of the seven World Central Kitchen workers who was killed this week.”
“Now I’m no military expert, and I know Hamas is hiding in a civilian population, but there’s got to be some way Israel can fight this war without killing so many innocents, without killing people like Damian. Sometime over these six months, continuing to fight this war, this way, became unacceptable.”
The group of aid workers was made up of three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national, an American-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian. The family of Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha described the 25-year-old “as a dedicated young man eager to help fellow Palestinians.” World Central Kitchen aid worker Dora Weekley said that Australian Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom “worked all hours, she gave everything, and she believed in helping people who were less fortunate.”
In a statement delivered on Tuesday, President Joe Biden insisted Israel “has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians.”
“The United States will continue to do all we can to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, through all available means,” Biden said. “I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.”
Watch the Chris Wallace segment in the video above.
