The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had dismissed two officers for their role in the drone operation and disciplined three others. Seven aid workers killed in strike in Gaza They alleged that they mishandled important information during the food delivery mission and violated the military's rules of engagement.
An investigation conducted by a retired Israeli Defense Forces general into Monday's killings comes in the face of growing accusations from key allies, including the United States, that the country is not doing enough to protect civilians in Gaza from war with Hamas. Israel's embarrassing confession.
The results of this investigation are likely to renew doubts about the Israeli military's decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of recklessly firing on civilians throughout the conflict, an accusation Israel denies.
IDF says attack on WCK 'should not have happened'
“This is a tragedy,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari told reporters about the attack on the World Central Kitchen team. “This is a serious incident for which we are responsible, it should never have happened and we will make sure it never happens again.”
“The incident should not have happened,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a seven-page statement summarizing the findings of retired general Job Ha'even. “Those authorizing the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK personnel.The strike on aid vehicles was a result of mistaken identity, poor decision-making, and “a serious mistake resulting from a serious failure by the attack” that violates standard operating procedures. ”
The investigation into Har Even was carried out with remarkable speed and provided a more detailed explanation of its actions than the IDF typically provides. The findings were announced within hours of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's press conference. Telephone conversation with President BidenAccording to the White House, he told the Israeli side that the attack on the WCK team was “unacceptable” and warned that U.S. policy on future conflicts would depend on Israeli actions to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. .
Will punishment and apology quiet international outcry over World Central Kitchen worker's death, or will international aid say it is safe to resume operations in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is at risk? It is unclear whether this will reassure the group. hunger.
World Central Kitchen calls for 'system change'
WCK said in a statement on Friday that Israel had made “significant progress” based on its findings, but that “it is also preliminary that the Israel Defense Forces deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command, or regulations.” It is clear from the investigation.” of engagement. ”
“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more families left to grieve,” the charity said. “The root cause of the unwarranted rocket fires against our convoys lies in the severe food shortages in the Gaza Strip. We need to increase the volume significantly.”
WCK also called for a new investigation into the incident, which the Israeli military would not conduct.
“We demand the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the murder of our WCK colleagues,” the group said in a statement. “The Israel Defense Forces are unable to credibly investigate their own failures in Gaza.”
Details of Israeli findings
According to Israeli military regulations, the spokesperson said, a target must be visually identified as a threat for several reasons before being attacked. But an investigation revealed that the colonel authorized a series of deadly drone attacks on the convoy based on one major's observation (from grainy drone camera footage) that someone in the convoy was armed. did. That observation turned out to be untrue, military officials said.
The colonel and major were dismissed and three other officers were disciplined, the military said. The report said the findings will be handed over to the military's attorney general, who will decide whether the officers and those involved in the killing should face further punishment or be prosecuted.
The killing was condemned by Israel's closest allies and comes amid renewed criticism of Israel's actions in its nearly six-month war with Hamas.
The aid workers include three British nationals, one Polish national, one Australian and Canadian-American dual citizenAll worked for WCK, an international charity founded by celebrity Spanish-American chef Jose Andrés. The Palestinian driver was also killed.
Yasser Kudai/Anadolu/Getty
The Israeli investigation found two major areas of wrongdoing.
Police accused officers of failing to read out a message warning forces that cars, not aid trucks, would be transporting charity workers from warehouses where aid was being distributed. As a result, the targeted vehicle was mistakenly identified as transporting insurgents.
The military said the order was issued after one of the passengers in the car was identified as the gunman. The newspaper said the military became suspicious after a man with a gun was seen standing on the roof of a delivery truck on its way to the warehouse. The military showed reporters footage of the gunman firing a gun while riding on top of a truck.
After relief supplies were dropped off at the warehouse, officers believed they found the gunman in one of the cars. The passenger was found not to have been armed, and the military said he may have only been carrying a bag.
The military initially said that one vehicle had been hit. People rushed to get into a second car, which was also struck. The same thing happened when the survivors jumped into a third car. Army officials claimed that because it was nighttime, the drone operator could not have noticed the words “World Central Kitchen” engraved on the vehicle.
Israel vows to make “maximum efforts to minimize civilian casualties''
The findings confirm much of Andres' own account of the attack earlier this week, in which he said his team's vehicles were “systematically targeted car by car.”
But despite the aid worker's death, an Israeli government spokesperson insisted Thursday that Israel was setting a “new gold standard” to prevent civilian casualties.
“All I can say at this point is that I apologize and share my sadness,” Avi Hyman told CBS News correspondent Holly Williams. “Our fight is against Hamas, not against Gazans, and we will do everything in our power to minimize civilian casualties on both sides.”
But medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières said on Thursday it did not accept Israel's claims that the incident was simply a mistake, saying it was part of a deliberate pattern of attacks on aid workers. .
“Humanitarian workers are protected. There are no ifs, no buts. We do not accept reports of this unfortunate incident,” the group said.
The results of the Israeli investigation were to be handed over to military prosecutors, who would determine whether a criminal investigation was warranted.
