IDF strikes World Central Kitchen employee who participated in Oct. 7 attack

The IDF struck a vehicle on Saturday morning containing terrorist and World Central Kitchen (WCK) employee Ahed Azmi Qudeih, who took part in the murderous October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz, the military announced that afternoon.

The terrorist was monitored for a while by IDF intelligence and was struck following credible information regarding his real-time location. 

The IDF emphasized that it was a civilian unmarked vehicle, and its movement on the route was not coordinated for transporting aid.

Following this incident, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) representatives demanded immediate clarification and an investigation from international community leaders and WCK as to why the organization employed an individual who participated in the October 7 massacre and was involved in terrorist activities. 

COGAT is also calling on international organizations operating in Gaza to provide Israeli authorities with details of their staff in Gaza to ensure terrorists are not "exploiting existing humanitarian frameworks," the IDF statement said. 

The IDF noted that there is no link between the terrorist and any kidnapping incident. 

The WCK later issued a statement saying it will pause their operations in the Gaza Strip after the incident. They also said they had no knowledge of any individual in the vehicle having ties to the October 7 massacre.

IDF strike on WCK convoy

In April, the IDF mistakenly struck a convoy of WCK staff, killing seven employees. The strike was widely condemned across the world, including by US President Joe Biden, who said this was "not a stand-alone incident."

Following this incident, the IDF dismissed two senior officers and censured three others after an investigation.

Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.