Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, known as Zomi, was the Australian worker killed on Monday. She began volunteering for World Central Kitchen in 2018 and was hired the following year, according to her former partner, Josh Phelps.
Their last exchange of messages occurred on Sunday, shortly before she and the humanitarian convoy departed central Gaza. She sent her some photos of their time together delivering food on a reservation in South Dakota. She responded with a heart emoji.
The next day, he found out she had been killed.
“Wherever she needed to go, she was willing to go,” he said. “She was following her dreams of making a life around the world.”
Damian Sobol of Poland has been described as “the Michael Jordan of humanitarian work” by a former colleague, Noah Sims, a chef from North Georgia who has been on the scene of several World Central Kitchen disaster relief efforts.
They first met while feeding refugees in the southeastern Polish city of Przemysl, Mr. Sobol's hometown and where he had studied hospitality.
“Anything I needed, Damian could make it happen,” Mr. Sims said.
According to World Central Kitchen, three British citizens were also killed in the attack: John Chapman, 57; James Henderson, 33; and James Kirby, 47. All three men were part of the organization's security team. Local British media described Chapman and Henderson as former Royal Marines who later turned to volunteering.
The seventh worker, Jacob Flickinger, was 33 years old with dual citizenship of the United States and Canada, according to World Central Kitchen, and worked on the group's rescue team.
Kim Severson AND Aaron Boxerman contributed to the reporting.