Emotional tributes at funeral of Bristol aid worker killed in Gaza | News

James Kirby was among seven killed in an Israeli airstrike in April

Emotional tributes have been paid to Bristol aid worker James Kirby, one of three Britons killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

Family, friends and former colleagues gathered at St Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol for the service.

A friend broke down in tears as she paid tribute to James during the church service: “Today is for you, all this love is for you.

“Your mother has a whole platoon looking after her on your behalf. Go in peace now James. You will never be forgotten.”

Speaking outside the church, Veiner Gaston, who worked with James in 2010, spoke of the character of his former colleagues: “He was amazing. He was doing something and you call him and he drops whatever he’s doing to come to him. your help.

“He was good to everybody, no matter what your age, where you’re from, what your religious beliefs are, he’d be kind to you.

“He was larger than life, his aura was so great.”

James Kirby, who was 47, was among seven people killed in total when a drone strike hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles trying to deliver food to the civilian population.

Israel called it a “serious mistake” and fired two senior military officers it blamed for the strike.

Before the funeral, his mother Jacqui Kirby said: “As we gather for the funeral service at St. Mary’s Redcliffe, to celebrate the life of my son, James, I cannot express more deeply my gratitude for the outpouring of love I have seen everywhere. weeks since his tragic death in Gaza.

“James was a remarkable man, a true friend to so many people and most of all he was my son.

“I will miss him immensely and cannot fathom a future without him.

“But it gives me great comfort to know that he died doing something that really mattered to him and that he was loved by so many people from all walks of life.”

James Henderson (33) from Falmouth in Cornwall and John Chapman, 57, from Poole, Dorset, were also killed in the strike.

When an inquest into their deaths opened at Avon Coroners Court last month, it was confirmed that all three died from injuries caused by the blast.

Listen to all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, greatesthitsradio.co.uk and the Greatest Hits Radio app.