Two British ex-forces heroes are named among the seven aid workers killed by Israeli airstrike on clearly marked food charity vehicles in Gaza: ‘Shocked and saddened’ Rishi Sunak demands response – but Netanyahu says ‘this happens in war’

A British special forces hero and a former Royal Marine were among the three British aid workers killed in an Israeli drone attack on a food aid convoy in Gaza.

John Chapman and James Henderson were travelling in a clearly marked car operated by World Central Kitchen (WCK), a charity providing meals to Palestinians in the war-torn enclave, when the convoy was hit with three missiles fired by an IDF drone yesterday.

Henderson, 33, was a former special forces operator and a member of the Royal Marines for six years. Following his exit from the military in 2016, he had worked a series of close personal security jobs before volunteering to work with WCK.

Chapman, 57, had only been in Gaza for a few weeks when he was killed. The ex-Royal Marine and married father-of-two had been working for the same security company as Henderson, The Sun reported.

The third Briton killed in the strike, who has not yet been named but is believed to be an Army veteran, also reportedly worked for Solace Global, a security company based in Poole, Dorset.

The trio are among seven people killed in the Israeli attack on the convoy as it travelled along Al-Rashid road between Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in central Gaza yesterday. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted his forces carried out the drone strikes and insisted that officials ‘will do everything for this not to happen again’.

But his British counterpart Rishi Sunak this evening told the Israeli Prime Minister that he was ‘he was appalled by the killing of aid workers’ and branded the situation as ‘increasingly intolerable’.

Sunak added that ‘far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza’, a Downing Street spokesperson has said.

 

Henderson’s family were only informed of his death on Tuesday morning, a day after he was killed, neighbours in Falmouth, Cornwall, told MailOnline.

A close friend said: ‘Everybody is gutted, he was a lovely lad. He hadn’t been out there long, only a couple of weeks.’

‘The group he was working for broke the news to the family this morning.’

A friend of Chapman told The Sun that the former SBS hero had only been in Gaza ‘matter of weeks’ after having served ‘previous stints working in the Middle East’.

He hailed the ex-Royal Marine as a ‘brilliant bloke’ and said his death was a ‘huge loss for his family, his friends and for the veteran community’. He also urged officials to provide more support to aid workers.

‘People trying to deliver aid into Gaza are doing the right thing and they need support and protection from people like John and his colleagues to do their job,’ the insider said.

The strike on the WCK convoy also killed citizens of Australia and Poland, as well as Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. 

Horrific photographs showed how a huge hole had been blown in the roof of one car, with the vehicle’s interior torn to shreds by the force of the blast. 

Another vehicle was missing most of its rear end after being hit by the Israeli munitions, with charred debris littering the roadside in harrowing images. 

Bloodstains were clearly seen spattered across the white paint of the aid vehicles.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday an Israeli airstrike had mistakenly killed the charity workers, as Britain, the US and other allies called for explanations amid widespread condemnation.

Israel’s military voiced ‘sincere sorrow’ over the incident, which ratcheted up international pressure for steps to ease the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza nearly six months into Israel’s siege and invasion of the Palestinian enclave.

‘Unfortunately in the past day there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip,’ Netanyahu said in a video statement.

‘This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.’

The Israeli military (IDF) pledged an investigation by ‘an independent, professional and expert body’.

Britain summoned Israel’s ambassador in London to express its ‘unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing’ of the WCK workers, three of whom were British nationals, and called for an urgent explanation from Israel of how this had occurred. 

Sunak, who has demanded an immediate investigation into the deaths and a ‘full, transparent explanation’, had a conversation with Netanyahu this evening to address the situation and demand ‘immediate action’, Downing Street confirmed. 

A spokesperson said: ‘The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening.

‘He said he was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an air strike in Gaza yesterday and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened.

‘The Prime Minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable.

‘The UK expects to see immediate action by Israel to end restrictions on humanitarian aid, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks.

‘The Prime Minister reiterated that Israel’s rightful aim of defeating Hamas would not be achieved by allowing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.’

Writing on X earlier today, Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: ‘British Nationals are reported to have been killed, we are urgently working to verify this information and will provide full support to their families.

‘It is essential that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work. We have called on Israel to immediately investigate and provide a full, transparent explanation of what happened.’

WCK, which was founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said the aid workers were killed while travelling in a deconflicted zone.

They had just crossed in from the north after helping deliver aid that had arrived hours earlier on a ship from Cyprus, sources have claimed.

The workers had been travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the charity’s logo and another vehicle, WCK said in a statement.

Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli military, the convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, the organisation added.

‘This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,’ said Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen.

‘This is unforgivable.’

Harrowing footage shared online appeared to show the bodies of the dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Several of them wore protective gear with the charity’s logo.

The Australian victim was named this morning as Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom, 44, from Melbourne, while the Polish victim was named as Damian Sobol. 

In comments to journalists this morning, Sunak said: ‘We are asking Israel to investigate what happened urgently, because clearly there are questions that need to be answered.’

The Prime Minister added: ‘My thoughts are with their friends and family.

‘They are doing fantastic work bringing alleviation to the suffering that many are experiencing in Gaza.

‘They should be praised and commended for what they are doing.

‘They need to be allowed to do that work unhindered and it is incumbent on Israel to make sure they can do that.’

The IDF said it has launched a probe into the incident at the ‘highest levels’ and reiterated that it has been ‘working closely’ with the charity, but also ‘makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid’. 

IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari later said in a statement that he had ‘expressed the deepest condolences of the Israel Defence Forces to the families and the entire World Central Kitchen family’.

‘We will be opening a probe to examine this serious incident further.

‘This will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again.

‘The incident will be investigated in the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism: an independent, professional, and expert body.’

In Cyprus, officials said seaborne aid for Gaza civilians was returning to the eastern Mediterranean island following the killing of the WCK workers, after the US-based charity said it would pause work in the enclave.

The United Arab Emirates, which had been the main financier for WCK’s aid efforts through the maritime corridor, said it was pausing such shipments from Cyprus pending further safety guarantees from Israel and a full investigation.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, said that there was no evidence Israel deliberately targeted the aid workers but that it was outraged by their deaths and Israel had an obligation to ensure aid workers in Gaza were not harmed.

The White House said it expected a broad and impartial investigation to be carried out with appropriate accountability.

‘These people are heroes, they run into the fire, not away from it,’ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said of the seven aid workers, speaking to reporters in Paris. ‘We shouldn’t have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk.’

Israel has long denied accusations that it is hindering the distribution of urgently needed food aid in Gaza, which it has besieged in a war since October, saying the problem is caused by international aid groups’ inability to get it to those in need.

Since the October start of the war, World Central Kitchen has been involved in relief efforts, including supplying meals to hunger-stricken Gaza.

It is one of two NGOs spearheading efforts to deliver aid to Gaza by boat from Cyprus and was also involved in the construction of a temporary jetty.

The group has set up two main kitchens in the southern city of Rafah and the central town of Deir al-Balah. It lends support to 68 community kitchens throughout the territory, serving more than 170,000 hot meals a day. 

WCK has described the loss of life as a ‘tragedy’ and, in a statement posted online, said ‘humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER’. 

Erin Gore, the charity’s CEO, said this morning: ‘This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.

‘I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. 

‘The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished.’

In Britain, a Cabinet minister said the Government is ‘very, very concerned’ by reports that a British aid worker has been killed in Gaza.

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, told the BBC: ‘We haven’t had it confirmed yet, but we are very, very concerned by the situation.

‘We do know that we’ve urged Israel to do more to protect civilians, but also to allow aid to get into Gaza.

‘But we haven’t yet had this confirmed and I think the IDF are reviewing this, probably as we speak.’

She added it was ‘worrying’ that the charity World Central Kitchen had suspended its work in Gaza.

She said: ‘One of the key things is trying to ensure we get more aid into Gaza, so if one of the charities working on the ground has suspended, then that’s obviously deeply concerning.’

Ms Keegan added: ‘Our thoughts would go to everybody affected.’

James Elder, spokesman for the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (Unicef), said the aid worker deaths underlined how dangerous the situation in Gaza has become.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘It is utterly horrifying. These people had been unloading something like a hundred tonnes of humanitarian food aid at this most critical junction when they were saving lives day in, day out.

Describing it as an ‘immense tragedy’, Mr Elder said the incident ‘underscores the horrendous conditions everyone continues to endure in Gaza, but it is just such a senseless loss of life’.

He added: ‘This has been one of the most dangerous places in living memory to operate, Gaza is breaking too many bleak records – numbers of children killed, number of people facing catastrophic hunger, record displacement, worst devastation to homes in living memory and largest number of United Nations colleagues killed since it was created.’

The aid ships that arrived Monday carried some 400 tons of food and supplies in a shipment organized by the United Arab Emirates and the World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.

Last month a ship delivered 200 tons of aid in a pilot run. The Israeli military was involved in coordinating both deliveries.

The US has touted the sea route as a new way to deliver desperately needed aid to northern Gaza, where several hundred Palestinians face imminent famine, largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces .

Israel has barred UNRWA, the main UN agency in Gaza, from making deliveries to the north , and other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.

The airstrike comes after the Israeli military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital early Monday after a two-week raid that engulfed the facility and surrounding districts in fighting. 

Footage showed widespread devastation, with the facility’s main buildings reduced to burned-out husks.

The military has described the raid on Shifa Hospital as a major battlefield victory in the nearly six-month war, and officials said Israeli troops killed 200 militants in the operation, though the claim that they were all militants could not be confirmed.

The raid came at a time of mounting frustration in Israel, with tens of thousands protesting Sunday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding that he do more to bring home dozens of hostages held in Gaza. It was the largest anti-government demonstration since the start of the war.

Elsewhere, Syrian officials and state media said an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iran’s consulate in Syria, killing two Iranian generals and five officers.

The strike appears to signify an escalation of Israel’s targeting of Iranian military officials and their allies in Syria. The targeting has intensified since Hamas militants – who are supported by Iran – attacked Israel on October 7.

While Iran’s consular building was levelled in the attack, according to Syria’s SANA state news agency, its main embassy building remained intact.

Israel, which rarely acknowledges such strikes, said it had no comment. Iran’s ambassador, Hossein Akbari, vowed revenge for the attack ‘at the same magnitude and harshness.’

The war began on October 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

Israel responded with an air, land and sea offensive that has killed at least 32,845 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. 

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. 

The Israeli military blames the civilian toll on Palestinian militants because they fight in dense residential areas.

The war has displaced most of the territory’s population and driven a third of its residents to the brink of famine. 

Northern Gaza, where Shifa is located, has suffered vast destruction and has been largely isolated since October, leading to widespread hunger.

Netanyahu has vowed to keep up the offensive until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are freed. 

He says Israel will soon expand ground operations to the southern city of Rafah, where some 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza’s population – have sought refuge.

But he faces mounting pressure from Israelis who blame him for the security failures of October 7 and from some families of the hostages who blame him for the failure to reach a deal despite several weeks of talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. 

Allied countries, including main backer the United States, have warned him against an invasion of Rafah.

Hamas and other militants are still believed to be holding some 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others, after freeing most of the rest during a cease-fire last November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.