Humanitarians killed in Gaza: Israeli army admits to having made a series of “serious errors”
The Israeli army claimed this Friday, April 5, that it was targeting a “Hamas gunman” firing from the roof of one of the aid trucks when it killed seven aid workers from the American NGO World Central Kitchen in Gaza, admitting to having made a series of “serious errors”. Immediately after these statements, WCK called for the creation of an independent commission of inquiry.
A vehicle where World Central Kitchen (WCK) employees, including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on April 2, 2024. © Ahmed Zakot / Reuters
By: RFI with AFP
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These humanitarian workers were
killed on Monday evening,
April 1, in the
Gaza Strip
by three
Israeli
strikes launched in the space of four minutes on their convoy.
The team operating the drones behind the strikes made an “
operational error in judgment of the situation
” after spotting a “
Hamas gunman
” firing from the roof of one of the aid trucks that the collaborators of the American NGO
World Central Kitchen
(WCK) escorted, according to an internal army investigation. The army, which refers to “
violations of normal operating procedures
”, also recognized that WCK had communicated its route plan, but the soldiers in charge of the strikes did not have it in hand.
At a press briefing at army headquarters in Tel Aviv, senior Israeli officers presented journalists with drone video footage showing the "Hamas agent" joining the WCK convoy traveling into Gaza during the night of Monday to Tuesday shortly after 10:00 p.m. (local time, 7:00 p.m. UT).
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Palestinians carry the body of an employee of the NGO World Central Kitchen to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. AP - Abdel Kareem Hana
Wave of indignation
Large WCK logos adorned the roofs of the vehicles, but the drone's camera could not see them in the darkness, said retired Gen. Yoav Har-Even, who is leading the investigation. “
That was a key factor in the chain of events
,” he said.
The deaths of the humanitarians sparked a wave of outrage, with US President
Joe Biden
asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to order an “
immediate ceasefire
” during a tense phone call. The Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his part, indicated on April 5 that he had asked Israel for “
a criminal investigation
” for “
murder
”.
“
We demand the creation of an independent commission responsible for investigating the murders of our colleagues
,” said the NGO WCK in a statement shortly after the statement by the Israeli army that “
cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza
,” added the NGO.
A man shows bloodstained British, Polish and Australian passports after an Israeli airstrike, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, April 1, 2024. AP - Abdel Kareem Hana
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