(NewsSpace.com) – Israel has continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on October 7. Millions of Palestinians have been displaced as a result, and it’s been excruciating trying to get humanitarian aid into the region. That hasn’t stopped one celebrity chef from trying, though.
José Andrés, who founded the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit devoted to providing meals to those who need them after natural disasters—or, in this case, war—is working to ensure the people of Gaza get food. So far, the organization has managed to provide more than 32 million meals to the affected areas, and Andrés hopes to do even more. With the US’ efforts to build a floating pier, President Joe Biden has already ordered the military to build a temporary port. Andrés says that it would help more than double the number of meals the organization is offering and bring in more aid.
To further bolster aid, the nonprofit has set up 65 community kitchens, with plans to build at least 35 more. They are currently run by Palestinians.
Not everyone is happy about Andrés’ efforts, though. Some are criticizing that the air drops into Gaza are insufficient when compared to other measures and hypocritical. The celebrity chef was quick to shut down that line of thinking, saying that there’s a desperate “need to bring food into Gaza any way we can.” He specifically addressed a statement by Oxfam, an anti-poverty group, that said the deliveries “mostly serve to relieve the guilty consciences of senior US officials,” dismissing it as someone “who has a lot of time on his hands.”
The World Central Kitchen was established following the devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people in Haiti in 2010. Since then, it has also delivered millions of meals to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, to Ukraine amid the war, and to those affected by fires in Texas and Chile.
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