The Israeli military this week fired two officers for their role in an attack on a aid convoy in the Gaza Strip that killed seven international workers at World Central Kitchen. The incident has sparked international outrage, with a new Israeli investigation saying it was an error carried out after the military misidentified the vehicle.
An investigation revealed that Israeli forces targeted three aid group vehicles in the belief that they were attacking “Hamas operatives.”
A statement accompanying the investigation said: “The findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred.” “The strike on the support vehicle was a grave mistake resulting from a serious failure due to mistaken identification, poor decision-making, and an attack that violated standard operating procedures.”
The findings come as President Joe Biden said in a tense phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that U.S. support in the Gaza war depends on “immediate” steps to protect civilians and aid workers. It was announced the next day. After the telephone conversation, the Israeli government announced plans to expand aid to Gaza, including opening the Erez crossing from Israel to northern Gaza and the port of Ashdod, and increasing aid shipments from Jordan.
“As the President said in today's telephone conversation, U.S. policy on Gaza is determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these and other measures, including measures to protect the safety of innocent civilians and aid workers.” “This will be determined by the decision,” a National Security Council spokesperson said. Adrian Watson said.
Global protests over humanitarian concerns in Gaza have gained momentum since volunteer workers at celebrity chef Jose Andrés' World Central Kitchen were killed in a car bombing on Monday.
The charity said that despite coordinating with the Israeli military, the WCK convoy was hit while leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. The team unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that had been brought to Gaza by sea. WCK identified the dead workers as British John Chapman, 57, Jim Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha. (25 years old), Australian Larzaumi (Zomi) Francom (43 years old), and Polish Damien Sobol (35 years old). And Jacob Flickinger, 33, is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
As a result of the report's findings, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Helj Halevi dismissed the brigade fire support commander, the brigade chief of staff, and said three others, including the brigade commander, would be “formally disciplined.” Stated.
“The IDF takes seriously the serious incident that claimed the lives of seven innocent humanitarian workers. We express our deep sadness at their loss and extend our condolences to the families and the WCK organization,” the statement said. ”.
Contributors: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Dan Morrison, John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz
