Aid worker killed by Israel felt need to help, parents say

The father of US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, one of seven aid workers killed in an Israeli strike earlier this week, said Thursday his son was hesitant to go to Gaza but had felt a need to help.

Flickinger, 33, was among a group of World Central Kitchen staff who died on Monday when Israel bombed their vehicle convoy in what it called a “grave mistake,” sparking outrage from world leaders.

In interviews with US media, parents John Flickinger and Sylvie Labrecque paid tribute to their son, who started working with food relief organization World Central Kitchen in Mexico last year before traveling to Gaza.

“He was hesitant to go, he’s a new father. He has a beautiful 18-month-old son,” John Flickinger told CBS News. “But he felt the need and he of course needs to support his family.”

In a separate interview with BBC News, he said his son — a Canadian Armed Forces veteran — felt “reasonably confident that he could accomplish the mission safely” in Gaza, adding that he had a “desire to serve and to help others.”

“He felt that the World Central Kitchen knew what they were doing there. They were in a de-conflicted zone, controlled by the IDF,” Flickinger said.

In the emotional interview, he said his thoughts went to his son’s family. “Now my grandson will grow up without having his father,” he said.

Jacob Flickinger’s partner, Sandy Leclerc, told ABC News in an interview Thursday that she wanted to know the “truth of what happened, because this situation is so unclear.”

“I am devastated by this news… He was a part of me,” Leclerc said, adding that she did not know how to explain to their son that his father had died.

Monday’s strike was widely condemned by global powers, with US President Joe Biden saying he was “outraged and heartbroken,” before warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that continued American support depended on Israel’s protection of civilians in Gaza.

Biden emphasized the need for a series of “specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” a White House statement said.

World Central Kitchen, which was founded in 2010 by Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, has paused its operations in Gaza since the attack, which also killed a Palestinian as well as citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland.

The aid workers had just unloaded supplies at a warehouse in central Gaza when they were killed.