Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi issued an “apology” for Monday’s deadly Israeli strike on an aid convoy in Gaza, adding that it was a result of a “misidentification.”
“Last night, seven employees of the World Central Kitchen were killed,” Halevi said in a video statement — his first response to the strike that killed seven WCK workers.
He said that the occupation military has already completed its preliminary probe into the strike and that the findings were shared with him at the IDF’s Southern Command base.
“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” Halevi clarified, adding that there was no “intention of harming WCK aid workers.”
“We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK,” the top Israeli commander said.
Seven people working for US-based charity World Central Kitchen were killed Monday when the convoy they were travelling in was attacked after unloading food aid in central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah city.
The NGO said its team was traveling in a deconflicted area in a convoy of two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle at the time of the strike.
World Central Kitchen is devastated to confirm seven members of our team have been killed in an IDF strike in Gaza. Read our full statement on the loss of our team members here: https://t.co/gsijamzfMU pic.twitter.com/PtQCxX5XrW
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) April 2, 2024
It said those killed were “from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the US and Canada, and Palestine.”
WCK called on the Zionist entity to stop “this indiscriminate killing” in Gaza. It also announced that it was “pausing [its] operations in the region”.
International condemnation of the Zionist entity grows amid calls for an urgent investigation after the strike, with world leaders expressing horror and anger and reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Activists on social media dismissed Israeli claims on the so-called “unintentional” killing, posting images and maps that show the aid workers traveling in three separate vehicles that were clearly marked with the NGO’s logo.
Israel murdered 7 aid workers in 3 seperate vehicles clearly marked with aid #wckitchen logos.
Yet Israel said it was a case of “miss-identification”. Do you believe them? pic.twitter.com/bcsGQEBzzQ
— Syrian Girl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) April 3, 2024
Source: Israeli media and social media
