World Central Kitchen will resume food distribution in Gaza, almost a month after seven of its aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The humanitarian organization said it had 276 trucks with eight million meals ready to enter through the Rafah crossing.
“Ultimately we decided we should continue feeding,” the charity said on Sunday.
Earlier this month, the charity said a convoy leaving a warehouse was attacked by Israel, killing seven and provoking an international outcry.
The Israel Defense Forces admitted that “serious mistakes” led to the fatal attack on workers and fired two senior officers about the incident.
In a statement on Sunday, WCK CEO Erin Gore said: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire.
“We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity and focus on feeding as many people as possible.”
The charity said it will also send trucks from Jordan and use the port of Ashdod, one of Israel’s three main cargo ports, as well as building a third high-production kitchen in Gaza.
Speaking about the fatal airstrike, the charity said it continued to call for an impartial, international investigation into the deaths of aid workerswhich included three Britons, a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole and an American-Canadian citizen.
“While we have no concrete guarantees, we continue to seek answers and advocate for change with the aim of better protecting WCK and all NGO workers who selflessly serve in the worst humanitarian conditions,” said Gore.
WCK is one of the main providers of desperately needed aid to Gaza and claims to have provided more than 43 million meals in Gaza since the war began in October.
Speaking about the decision to resume operations, Ms Gore added: “We have decided that we must continue to feed, continuing our mission of showing up to provide people with food during the most difficult of times.”
In the space of four minutes on 1 April, the seven aid workers were killed when three missiles destroyed their cars, one by one, as they carried out humanitarian work.
The charity’s staff were authorized by the Israeli military to help move humanitarian supplies from the coast to a warehouse. The IDF said a series of errors and miscommunications resulted in them being mistaken for Hamas operatives and becoming targets.
Israel’s military said “several armed men” were in the vicinity of the convoy, but drone operators mistakenly tracked cars carrying aid workers.
The army apologized after admitting that its soldiers did not follow protocols and were not given crucial information about the pre-approved relief mission.
WCK’s announcement comes as the Israeli military says the amount of aid destined for Gaza will increase in the coming days to help.
Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement: “Food, water, medical supplies, shelter equipment and other aid – more aid is going to Gaza than ever before.”
Israel is also working with US Central Command to build a “temporary sea pier” that will allow ships to be deployed ashore, he added.
The UN has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is “almost inevitable” and that children are dying of hunger.
The current war began when Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza, killing around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages.
Israel’s subsequent campaign of aerial bombings and ground operations in Gaza killed 34,454 people, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
