Partner of World Central Kitchen worker killed in Gaza speaks out: ‘We need the truth of what happened’

The partner of one of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza this week is pleading for answers into the deadly attack.

“We need some answers,” Sandy Leclerc, the partner of Jacob Flickinger, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, told ABC News on Thursday, in her first television interview since the attack. “We need the truth of what happened because this situation is so unclear.”

“Please Mr. Biden, give us the truth of what happened,” she asked of President Joe Biden as she spoke with ABC News correspondent Phil Lipof.

Flickinger, 33, and six other WCK aid workers were killed Monday night when their three-vehicle convoy, including two armored cars, was struck by the Israel Defense Forces after leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse in central Gaza, where the aid workers had helped unload more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route, according to a statement earlier this week from WCK.

When asked by Lipof what she would say to world leaders, Leclerc advocated for peace.

Flickinger “would always fight to bring more peace into this world,” and the need to help people was “deeply inside of him,” Leclerc said.

“I think that we need to bring more peace into this world,” she said.

Leclerc said Flickinger, a Canadian military veteran and father to her young son, would call her each day to say good night. The day of the attack, she didn’t get a call from him; instead, one of his co-workers called her to tell her that he had been killed, she said.

“I am devastated by this news,” an emotional Leclerc said. “He was a part of me.”

Leclerc said Flickinger was “such a loving father to his son” and that she doesn’t know how to explain to their son that his father is now gone.

In addition to Flickinger, the WCK aid workers killed in the strike were identified as Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25; Damian Sobol, 35, of Poland; and Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, 43, of Australia.

Also killed were three members of the WCK security team: John Chapman, 57; James (Jim) Henderson, 33; and James Kirby, 47, all of Great Britain.

Analyzing ground landmarks in Gaza and satellite imagery, ABC News’ visual verification team has been able to identify the three WCK vehicles, including two armored cars, spread out in different locations over a span of about 1.5 miles, suggesting that the vehicles were hit by at least three separate strikes.

The killing of the humanitarian workers has sparked an international outcry. President Joe Biden said he was “outraged” by the attack, which Israeli officials have maintained was a “grave mistake.”

In a phone call Thursday between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable, according to a readout of the conversation released by the White House.

Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday that “Israel deeply regrets the tragic incident” and the IDF will conduct a “swift and transparent investigation” with the findings made public.

WCK, a foreign-aid organization founded by Chef José Andrés, called for an independent and international investigation into the airstrike. The organization described the incident as a “military attack that involved multiple strikes” and alleged the organization’s vehicles were “targeted.”

“All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,” WCK said in a statement Thursday.

A senior adviser for Netanyahu said claims that the Israeli strike was intentional were “absurd.”

“The last thing we would want in the world is to endanger civilian lives,” Ophir Falk, the adviser, told ABC News on Wednesday.

WCK said Thursday that it had asked Israel to preserve all material — including documents and communications — that may be relevant to the strike.

WCK has been operating in Gaza for months and has said it’s served more than 33 million meals since the start of the conflict. The group paused its operations in the region following the attack. It said Wednesday it has not yet determined when it will resume operations in Gaza.

According to a March report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza, as the entire population of the strip experiences high levels of food insecurity amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.