The Israeli Defense Forces has fired two officers it charges with having misidentified a convoy of seven World Central Kitchen staffers who were killed by Israeli air strikes earlier this month. The international aid organization called the decision “cold comfort,” in the face of Israel’s failure to make concrete commitments to improve the safety of humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza.
In a statement issued Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released the preliminary findings of its investigation into the killings, in which successive airstrikes were used to target three vehicles carrying the World Central Kitchen (WCK) staffers in Gaza.
“Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers. The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures,” the IDF admitted.
The Israeli military announced it would be dismissing two officers from their positions and formally reprimanding two others for their role in the deadly attack.
Israel’s decision to publicly relieve military personnel from their positions in response to a misuse of military force against civilians is a rare departure from the government’s established playbook for responding to international criticism of their routine excess use of force. As noted by WCK in their response to the IDF’s decision, more than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, alongside the more than 33,000 Palestinians killed in the Israeli siege against the occupied territory.
“It’s not enough to simply try to avoid further humanitarian deaths, which have now approached close to 200,” WCK founder and celebrity chef José Andrés said in a statement. “All civilians need to be protected, and all innocent people in Gaza need to be fed and safe. And all hostages must be released.”
WCK reiterated its call for an independent investigation into the killings, writing that the IDF “cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza.”
“Their apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort,” said WCK CEO Erin Gore. “It’s cold comfort for the victims’ families and WCK’s global family.” The group added that until Israel takes “concrete steps to assure the safety of humanitarian aid workers,” their operations in the region will remain suspended.
The murder of the seven humanitarian workers has renewed international pressure on Israel to tamp down its offensive and humanitarian blockade within Gaza. International humanitarian groups, the United Nations, and officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development have warned that Gaza is facing imminent famine conditions that could result in thousands more deaths.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, according to a White House readout, Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”
While Biden reportedly warned Netanyahu that “U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate actions” on those demands, the administration has given no indication that it will cease providing weapons and munitions to the Israeli military. In fact, the United States on Friday voted against a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for nations to cease arming Israel amid the slew of human rights concerns plaguing the conflict.
