Aid convoy hit – Netanyahu: Gaza attack was “unintentional”

The aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced it would immediately suspend its activities in the region in light of the deadly attack on an aid convoy.

The convoy was hit even though the trip was coordinated with the Israeli military, WCK continued. The aid workers had just left a warehouse in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip when they were shot at. There they unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that was brought by sea to the Gaza Strip.

Europeans also among the dead
“This is not just an attack on WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations that find themselves in dire situations where food is being used as a weapon of war,” said Erin Gore, the organization’s executive director. “This is inexcusable.” According to the statement, the seven victims came from Australia, Poland, 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 at this thoroughly and are in contact with the authorities. “We will do everything we can to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” Netanyahu continued. The Prime Minister was released from hospital on Tuesday after surgery for a hernia.

Israel expresses ‘deepest regret over tragic incident’
The Israeli military said in an English-language video on Tuesday that it is “conducting a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.” Army spokesman Daniel Hagari expressed his “deepest regrets” and said the incident would be investigated by an “independent, professional panel of experts.” The Israeli army tried wherever possible to reduce the chance that such an incident would occur again.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry called for an independent investigation into the incident and unhindered access for aid workers to the disputed coastal strip. “The lives of civilians and humanitarian workers must be protected at all times,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a message on X.

Poland demands answers from Israel
Poland demanded an explanation from Israel after reports of the death of a Polish citizen. “We have asked the Israeli embassy, ​​the security forces and the Israeli army for clarification,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Warsaw said on Tuesday. “We know that the shelling took place in the north-central part of the Gaza Strip and that a Polish national is named among the people who died.”

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 US, 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 promptly investigate the incident,” she said.

WCK has been distributing aid to the Palestinians since October
WCK has been involved in the distribution of aid on Palestinian territory since the start of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is one of two aid organizations that bring aid supplies from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip by ship and was also involved in the construction of a temporary pier there.