An activist in D.C. is among many in the nonprofit community mourning the seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday.
Bryan Weaver, Adams Morgan-based activist and former advisory neighborhood commissioner, spoke with News4 about his friend Zomi Frankcom, one of the workers who died.
"Heartbroken about my dear friend, Zomi Frankcom, who was killed tonight in Palestine in an IDF bombing. Her selfless dedication to aiding civilians showcased her true compassion and activism," Weaver wrote in a social media post. "I mourn the loss of a warrior for humanity. But I will raise her standard."
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Frankcom was an Australian citizen, born in Melbourne. But according to Weaver, she made and kept friends around the world.
"[She] was a pretty amazing person," Weaver said. "And if you see any of the photos of her, she's full of life. And that's the thing. I think being surrounded by so much disaster and pain and grief, to have somebody that still looked at the world in positive aspect and thought that they could make a difference is, you know, a rare commodity."
Weaver, an interim manager at Potter's House, a nonprofit café and bookstore in Adams Morgan, met Frankcom several years ago during a mission in Guatemala.
"It's just... I'm going to miss my phone calls, or text exchanges with her, or photos of her from wherever she's ended up in the world at that moment," Weaver said.
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The death of Frankcom and six other workers for the U.S.-based World Central Kitchen sparked outrage from D.C. to Gaza and beyond. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israeli forces are to blame and says the strike was unintentional.
World Central Kitchen says the group struck in the airstrike was traveling in a deconflicted zone, and they had coordinated their movements with the Israeli army.
The group was traveling in two armored cars bearing the World Central Kitchen logo and a third "soft-skin" vehicle, essentially meaning a vehicle without armor, according to the organization.
The convoy was hit by the Israeli air strike as it was leaving a warehouse, where the team had unloaded over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid.
World Central Kitchen founder and D.C. celebrity Chef Jose Andres issued a statement on social media.
"These are people... angels... I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia," the statmeent reads in part. "They are not faceless... they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon."
World Central Kitchen says, for now, they are pausing their work in the region. The Israeli army says they will perform a thorough review at the highest levels to understand how the deadly strike happened.
For now, friends and loved ones of the seven aid workers killed are left with questions and in mourning.
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"It's, you know, it's a huge loss personally for me, but it's a greater one, I think, for humanity," Weaver said.
