Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday regretted the “accidental” attack and promised a thorough investigation into the incident. The aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced that it would immediately stop its operations in the region in light of the deadly attack on an aid convoy.
“This is unforgivable”
WCK reported that the aid workers had just left a warehouse in the town of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip when they came under fire. “This is not just an attack on WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations that find themselves in dire situations where food is used as a weapon in war,” said the organization’s executive director, Erin Gore. “This is unforgivable.” According to the statement, the seven victims came from Australia, Poland, Great Britain and the Palestinian territories – and one of the victims also has US and Canadian citizenship.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu described the attack as tragic and unintentional in a video released on Tuesday. “We are looking into this thoroughly and are in contact with the governments (of the countries where the victims come from, note). We will do everything we can to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again,” Netanyahu continued. The prime minister was released from hospital on Tuesday following hernia surgery.
Independent expert panel
The Israeli military also said in an English-language video on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that it was conducting “a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that the incident would be investigated by an “independent, professional panel of experts.”
On X, the Austrian Foreign Ministry called for an independent investigation into the incident and unhindered access for aid workers to the contested coastal strip. “The lives of civilians and humanitarian workers must be protected at all times,” the Foreign Office said in an English-language posting.
Demand for clarification
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. “I pay tribute to the aid workers who lost their lives in Gaza,” she said on X on Tuesday. “My deepest condolences go out to their families and friends.” The aid organization WCK is a crucial partner in alleviating the suffering of the people in Gaza.
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell condemned the air strike in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday on X, the European Union’s foreign affairs representative paid tribute to the killed NGO employees and urged an investigation. “Despite all calls to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, there are new innocent victims.” The British and Spanish governments demanded an immediate investigation into the incident. Egypt condemned the attack. In its statement on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo spoke of continued attacks by Israel on organizations working in the humanitarian sector.
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has highlighted the courage of the seven humanitarian workers killed in Gaza. “They were heroes. They were killed while trying to feed starving people,” he wrote on X on Tuesday. He was outraged, Griffiths continued. “The actions of those behind this cannot be justified,” he added.
Poland demanded clarification from Israel in light of reports of the death of a Polish aid worker. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on Platform X on Tuesday that he had personally asked Israel’s Ambassador Jakov Livne for urgent clarification. “He assured me that Poland would receive all the results of the investigation into this tragedy.”
“A human tragedy”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of 44-year-old aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and called for those responsible to be held accountable. “This is a human tragedy that should never have happened,” he told reporters. In the USA, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson was shocked. “Humanitarian workers must be protected as they deliver urgently needed aid, and we call on Israel to quickly investigate the incident,” she said on social media.
WCK has been involved in distributing aid in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is one of two aid organizations that deliver aid supplies by ship from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip and was also involved in the construction of a temporary pier there.
