“It was a serious mistake”
Israel’s military chief gives reason for attack on aid workers
April 3, 2024, 1:47 a.m
An aid convoy with several employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen is hit by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. The result is several deaths. Now Israel’s military chief is commenting on this.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has described the death of several employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the Gaza Strip in an Israeli airstrike as a “serious mistake” and expressed his regret. “The attack was not carried out with the intention of harming the WCK volunteers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification – at night during a war in very complex conditions. This should not have happened,” Halevi said in a video statement. This was revealed by a preliminary investigation. He did not give further details. “This incident was a serious mistake,” Halevi said.
An independent committee will thoroughly investigate the incident and “conclude it in the next few days,” the Israeli chief of staff continued. The army will learn from the conclusions “and implement them immediately,” said Halevi. The army shares “from the bottom of our hearts” the grief of the relatives and the aid organization.
Several states are demanding clarification
World Central Kitchen had confirmed the deaths of seven employees in the Gaza Strip the day before. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a video message of a “tragic case of an accidental hit by our armed forces against innocent people in the Gaza Strip.” The incident is being investigated and everything will be done to ensure that something like this does not happen again.
Several states have already demanded clarification. EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell wrote on X that he condemned the attack and called for immediate clarification. He also referred to the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, full humanitarian access and enhanced protection of civilians to be implemented immediately. The White House was dismayed at X, and the Polish foreign minister demanded an explanation.