- Written by Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC news
image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
An Israeli military report found that those involved in the attack on the convoy did not know the vehicle belonged to World Central Kitchen.
Two senior Israeli military officials have been fired after a missile attack in the Gaza Strip killed seven aid workers.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called the killing of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) employee a “serious accident.”
The investigation report said the drone operator did not follow regulations and believed the WCK vehicle was carrying Hamas militants.
WCK called the IDF's apology a “cold consolation” to the families of aid workers and called for an independent investigation.
The IDF launched an internal investigation into the deaths after intense international pressure to explain the situation.
The findings of the investigation were released on Friday, along with an admission of “serious failures” and an announcement that an Israeli Defense Forces colonel and major would be dismissed as a result.
The Israel Defense Forces took overall responsibility for the attack, which it said was carried out in violation of military regulations, and three commanders were formally disciplined.
The IDF said those who carried out the attack could also face criminal prosecution.
In a four-minute period on April 1st, three missiles destroyed one car at a time, killing seven people working at WCK.
The charity team was authorized by the Israeli military to move aid supplies from the coast to a warehouse, but a series of mistakes and miscommunications on the part of the IDF made them a target.
In a press briefing for journalists on the incident, the IDF said a drone operator spotted the suspected gunman on top of one of the rescue trucks that WCK was escorting.
After the aid team arrived at its destination, the IDF said the vehicles carrying the gunmen headed north, while WCK aid workers began driving south in cars bearing the charity's logo.
Investigation revealed that these traces were not visible at night and that contact with aid workers was unsuccessful.
When the drone operator mistook the aid worker's bag for a gun, military forces began firing missiles at the bag.
The IDF's internal investigation also found:
- The plan defining the WCK's actions that had been agreed upon with the IDF was not given to the drone force.
- Evidence that there was an armed man in the convoy was not enough to justify targeting it.
- After the initial attack, the drone pilot continued firing at the convoy.
The Israel Defense Forces said the troops involved in the attack had been suspended from service and evidence had been turned over to the military's top legal authority, the Military Advocate General.
In response, World Central Kitchen said the IDF had made “significant progress” in disciplining those involved in the attack, but called for an independent investigation.
“The preliminary investigation also reveals that the Israel Defense Forces deployed deadly force in disregard of its own procedures, chain of command, and rules of engagement,” the statement said.
“We demand the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the killing of our WCK colleagues. The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failures in Gaza.”
Family of aid worker killed in Gaza: 'He had a desire to serve others'
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is reviewing the investigation carefully and will assess what steps Israel is taking “to ensure something like this never happens again.”
Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna called for a criminal investigation. One of the seven aid workers killed was Polish.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington's continued support is conditional on further aid being allowed to Gaza and additional measures being put in place to protect aid workers. He said that.
The Erez Gate in northern Gaza has reopened for the first time since the start of the war, and the Israeli container port of Ashdod, near Gaza, will receive humanitarian supplies. Further aid supplies from Jordan will also be able to enter the country via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The United Nations (UN) has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people, half the population, are facing catastrophic hunger due to Israel's limited aid delivery, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said 196 aid workers had been killed since the conflict began and called for a “meaningful increase” in allowing supplies into Gaza.
Meanwhile, the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah, a close ally of Iran, said Tehran would soon respond to an airstrike on a diplomatic compound in Syria that killed a senior general. It is widely believed that Israel is behind the attack.
Israel has taken steps to prepare for a potential Iranian response, including cutting off GPS in large parts of the country in an effort to jam guided missiles and drones.
On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said “Iran's reaction is undoubtedly coming.”
Much of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed in an Israeli military operation that began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
More than 33,091 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
