Funeral to be held for Somerset aid worker killed in Gaza
James Kirby was among seven killed by an Israeli air strike in April
A funeral will be held in Bristol later for one of three British aid workers killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza.
James Kirby who was 47, was among seven people killed in total when a drone strike hit a convoy of vehicles from World Central Kitchen, which was attempting to deliver food to the civilian population.
Israel went on to call it a "grave mistake" and sacked two senior military officers it blamed for the strike.
The funeral for James, who was born in Bristol but lived in Street in Somerset at the time of his death, will be held at St Mary Redcliffe Church, one of the biggest in the city.
Ahead of the funeral his mum 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 over the weeks since his tragic death in Gaza.
“James was a remarkable man, a true friend to so many people and above all, he was my son.
“I will miss him beyond measure and cannot comprehend a future without his presence.
“But, I take great comfort from knowing he died doing something that really mattered to him, and the knowledge that he was loved by so many people from all walks of life.”
James Henderson (33) from Falmouth in Cornwall and 57-year-old John Chapman from Poole in Dorset were also killed in the strike.
At the opening of an inquest into their deaths at Avon Coroners Court last month, it was confirmed all three died from blast injuries.