Israeli Gaza strike shows increasing peril for aid workers

+ solar eclipses and predictions of end times US Edition - Today's top story: Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen aid convoy shows growing danger of humanitarian work in conflict zones [View in browser]( US Edition | 4 April 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Support for political system eroding among rural Americans]( - [Laws to protect youth online – what could help or hurt]( - [Metabolism, explained by a biochemist]( Lead story The news early this week that Israeli drone strikes hit and killed seven humanitarian workers traveling in a clearly marked aid convoy in the Gaza Strip elicited shock and international condemnation, including from President Joe Biden and other world leaders. The tragic news, though, was not an isolated incident. More than 180 aid workers, most of them Palestinians, have died in Gaza since October 2023. And beyond Gaza,[attacks on aid workers have been on the rise globally]( in various war zones and other places in crisis, from Syria to Haiti, over the past few decades, explains Elizabeth Stites, a scholar of conflict at Tufts University's Feinstein International Center A majority of these aid workers harmed in conflicts are local − not foreigners flown in to help manage a crisis. “For me, these recent deaths raise the question of what type of aid worker we care about, and why. Six of the World Central Kitchen workers who were killed were foreigners, which is one reason why I think we are paying attention,” Stites says. “Possibly the fact that some of these World Central Kitchen workers were from influential countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. may turn up the heat on the Israeli military and shine a spotlight on this – but I think it will fade relatively quickly.” [ [Miss us on Sundays? Get a selection of our best and most popular stories (or try our other weekly emails).]([]]( Amy Lieberman Politics + Society Editor Palestinians stand near a World Central Kitchen vehicle on April 2, 2024, after three aid vehicles were targeted by Israeli strikes. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images [Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen aid convoy shows growing danger of humanitarian work in conflict zones]( Elizabeth Stites, Tufts University Aid workers used to be considered off-limits in conflicts. The deaths of 7 aid workers in Gaza show that’s not the case anymore. Attacks on aid workers are on the rise. Ethics + Religion - [For some Christians, a solar eclipse signals the second coming of Christ]( Eric Vanden Eykel, Ferrum College A scholar of early Christian literature writes that religious theories around celestial events are part of a larger human pattern to find meaning. And they go back thousands of years. 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But polls suggest their commitments to the American political system are eroding. International - [Fuji music in Nigeria: New documentary shines light on a popular African culture]( Saheed Aderinto, Florida International University Fuji music is a way of life for millions of Yoruba people. It’s the prism through which they understand their world. Podcast 🎙️ - [The Anthropocene epoch that isn’t – what the decision not to label a new geological epoch means for Earth’s future]( Gemma Ware, The Conversation Scientists Jan Zalasiewica and Erle Ellis on the recent decision to reject a proposal for a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast. 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