Three British aid workers killed by Israeli strike in Gaza named as Sunak demands investigation from Netanyahu

Three British citizens killed in an Israeli airstrike on an aid mission travelling through Gaza have been named as Rishi Sunak demanded a “thorough and transparent investigation” from Israel.

James Henderson, John Chapman and James Kirby were among seven aid workers employed by charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) who died in the attack on the three-vehicle convoy on Monday.

On Tuesday evening, Mr Sunak telephoned Benjamin Netanyahu to say that “far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza” and that the situation there is “increasingly intolerable”.

The White House said it was also “outraged” by the incident, which killed workers and volunteers WCK, a charity that was supplying food to starving Palestinians.

The charity had just offloaded 100 tonnes of food aid from a barge which sailed from Cyprus when Israel attacked their vehicle convoy overnight on Monday on Gaza’s coastal road in Deir al-Balah. It said on Tuesday it was pausing all work in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The three British nationals killed were named by the BBC.

The other confirmed victims were Zomi Frankcom, 43, an Australian; Damian Sobol, 35, a Polish citizen; Saif Issam Abu Taha, 27, a Palestinian driver.

WCK said its convoy of three vehicles was hit despite the charity coordinating on its movements with the Israeli military, and the fact that two of the cars hit were clearly marked as aid vehicles.

Foreign secretary David Cameron called on Israel to “immediately investigate”, adding that the government wanted “a full, transparent explanation of what happened”.

“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.”

Mr Sobol started volunteering with WCK in the border town of Przemysl at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine where he was helping feed refugees. He joined WCK’s response to the earthquakes in Turkey. More recently he started working for WCK in Gaza.

Nate Mook, the former chief executive of WCK who first hired Ms Frankcom, described her as a “shining star” and “gift to the world” who had dedicated her life to helping people. “The news of her death, the killing of seven members of the World Central Kitchen is devastating for their families, friends and the world,” he told The Independent.

“It is unfathomable that they are not with us any more. They were all truly dedicated to their work, trying to do what they could in the most desperate and dangerous of situations.”

Mr Netanyahu said the killings were “unintended”.