Bay Area chef mourns friend killed on Gaza food aid mission
SAN FRANCISCO -- "Kind." "A protector." "A person determined to do good."
Those are just a few of the words and phrases Laura Pauli uses to describe Damian Sobol, one of seven aid workers for World Central Kitchen killed in a recent Israeli airstrike that Israeli military officials have since called a grave mistake.
"He was an extraordinary human being," she said.
Pauli, a chef, volunteered alongside Sobol on numerous humanitarian aid runs for people in Ukraine. That was before his mission to Gaza.
"Disbelief. Profound sadness. It's anger," she said. "It's all of those emotions. Knowing someone so personally. It just guts you."
Pauli says the World Central Kitchen's mission is simple: feed people in need.
"It doesn't matter what color you are, what religion you are, what political leanings you have -- it is all about feeding people in need. That's it," she said.
She says aid workers know there are risks inherent in what they do. She says it's hard to explain what drives people to run into the fire rather than away from it to help those who need it most. It's a feeling, a calling.
"It's just something inside of you that says you have to do it," she said.
Israeli's military says it misidentified an aid worker as a Hamas militant with a gun and mistakenly believed Hamas militants were inside a World Central Kitchen vehicle.
"At the time they were certain they were targeting Hamas," said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the IDF. "This tragic mistake could and should have been prevented."
Since the airstrike, Israel's military has dismissed two officers. However, World Central Kitchen is calling for systemic change in Israel's military and for an independent commission to investigate the killings.
"I absolutely think there needs to be an independent investigation," Pauli said. "If they can get ahold of the footage from the drones that will tell us a lot."
As the world waits to see what happens next, Pauli will continue to mourn the loss of a friend.
"His loss is a loss for not only World Central Kitchen but the planet. It's truly a tragedy," she said.
Sobol was one of seven heroes, in her eyes, at a time when they're needed most.
"They were just doing good," Pauli said.