Efe Washington
Washington
Updated Sunday, April 7, 2024-19:38
Middle East José Andrés asks Israel to "stop killing civilians and aid workers" in Gaza
War Israel dismisses two commanders for the attack on the convoy of José Andrés' NGO and says it was "a serious mistake" in believing that Hamas members were going
The Spanish chef
José Andrés
has resorted to his influence in Washington and the immense pain he feels over the death of seven collaborators from his NGO,
World Central Kitchen (WCK)
, so that the United States asks Israel for changes in its military strategy in the
Strip. from Gaza
.
When José Andrés speaks, Washington listens. He has important connections in political circles: former US President
Barack Obama
awarded him the Medal of Arts and Humanities in 2016, and earlier this year, the former speaker of the Lower House,
Nancy Pelosi
, nominated him for the
Award. Peace Nobel
.
The chef, who is also a US citizen, has a close relationship with the president,
Joe Biden
, and the two spoke by phone after the tragedy.
After that call, Biden issued one of the strongest statements to date against the Israeli government, accusing it of "not having done enough to protect humanitarian workers" since the start of the war and stating that he was "heartbroken" by the death of WCK aid workers in Gaza.
Since the moment of the tragedy, José Andrés has used the loudspeaker that his position gives him to question Israel's policy and make it clear that this is not an isolated incident, since since the beginning of the conflict 196 humanitarian workers have died and more than 33,100 Palestinians have asked for life.
Even more importantly, José Andrés has called for an independent investigation into the attack on the WCK convoy and has urged the
United States, Australia, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom
, countries of origin of the deceased aid workers, to join this call, although Washington has already refused to do so.
In an interview with the ABC network, broadcast this Sunday, José Andrés insisted on the need for an independent investigation and considered that Israel is waging a "war against humanity itself."
A "war against humanity itself"
"This is no longer about the seven men and women of WCK who perished in that unfortunate event. This has been happening for too long. It has been six months attacking anything that seems to move," said José Andrés.
"This doesn't look like a war on terror. This no longer looks like a war to defend Israel. Really, at this point, it looks like it's a war against humanity itself," he added.
For this reason, he argued, it is imperative that a
"deeper" investigation
be carried out , in which the videos of the event and the radio conversations of the soldiers involved can be analyzed. "Whoever carried out the attack cannot investigate himself," he stressed.
To know more
Israel-Gaza War.
Netanyahu admits that the seven workers of José Andrés' NGO died in an "unintentional" Israeli bombing
Editorial: EFE Jerusalem
Netanyahu admits that the seven workers of José Andrés' NGO died in an "unintentional" Israeli bombing
Israel-Gaza War.
Chef José Andrés criticizes Netanyahu for "reducing humanitarian aid to desperate levels"
Editorial: SAL EMERGUI Jerusalem
Chef José Andrés criticizes Netanyahu for "reducing humanitarian aid to desperate levels"
The Israeli Army has carried out its own investigation and, in its first conclusions published on Friday, stated that the attack was the result of a chain of "serious errors" and assured that they fired believing that there were two Hamas "gunmen"
inside
the vehicles.
When asked about it, José Andrés was especially forceful. "Every time something happens, we can't just throw Hamas into the equation," he said.
Influence on Biden
José Andrés has not only made these types of statements on the ABC network, but he also published an opinion article in The New York Times this week and has used his account on the social network X, with more than a million followers, to question Biden's policies towards Israel.
The pressure on Biden is enormous, especially because the chef's words come at a time when his policy towards Israel could cost him dearly in the November elections, especially in key states where the Arab community has an important weight, such as
Michigan
and
Minnesota.
In this context, Biden spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Thursday and gave him an ultimatum. For the first time, the American leader put conditions on his government's support for the war in Gaza and warned that Washington's policy would change if Israel did not take "concrete" measures to improve the humanitarian situation.
Hours later, Israel facilitated the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza and dismissed two commanders responsible for the attack on the aid workers.
The real test will now be the negotiations in the coming days in
Cairo
, in which the United States is putting pressure on Israel to reach an agreement with Hamas and achieve a ceasefire in the Strip, in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. .