ANNANDALE, Va. — A Fairfax County Public Schools teacher is remembering one of the World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza.
Annandale High School Instructional Coach Meredith Hedrick and her husband volunteered for the humanitarian aid organization in 2022. They helped serve food for Ukrainian refugees in Poland alongside Damian Sobol.
Sobol is identified by the Polish government as one of the WCK members who died by an Israel Defense Forces airstrike after bringing in a shipment of food. WCK said the team was traveling in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo in a deconflicted zone.
“When we were in Poland, Damian made sure everyone was in their World Central Kitchen clothing and that uniforms were up to par,” Hedrick said. “World Central Kitchen branding was really important because it helps identify yourself as a humanitarian worker. It does make me wonder how humanitarian workers can be in a strike with the technology that we have today.”
Other volunteers, including Zain Dada, expressed their grief and shock about the deaths. Dada worked closely with Sobol in Poland for several weeks.
“He was one of the most selfless people that I’ve met,” Dada said. “I just had this moment when I asked myself why the good guys leave us so early. He didn’t deserve this. Damian was this really energetic, happy person. You couldn’t ignore him. He was quite the presence.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the airstrike as a tragic yet unintentional use of force on innocent people. The Israel Defense Forces Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari committed to “examining operations thoroughly and transparently.”
Meanwhile, WCK Founder Chef Jose Andres turned the attention on the Israeli government by posting on X, “It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” WCK CEO Erin Gorge said in a statement.
WCK halted operations in Gaza. It was one of the very few groups providing food relief to Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The Australian Government has also confirmed one of the workers killed was Lalzawmi Frankcom. In a statement, it said, “The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable. Throughout this conflict, Australia has called for restraint, for the protection of civilians and safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance. The Australian Government condemns this strike.”