Following widespread condemnation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel had accidentally killed seven workers for the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen in an airstrike over Gaza. The United States and other allies then demanded an explanation.
The incident caused international pressure to increase for measures to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, almost half a year after Israel's invasion and siege of the Palestinian enclave. Israel's military expressed "sincere sorrow" over it.
In addition to Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy claimed the lives of citizens of Australia, Britain, and Poland.
Star chef Jose Andres founded WCK, a charity that said its employees were moving in two armoured cars with the organization's logo on them and another car, and they had coordinated their movements with the Israeli military.
An investigation by "an independent, professional and expert body" was promised by the Israeli military.
The UN reports that since October, at least 196 humanitarian workers have died in Gaza, and Hamas has previously charged Israel with attacking locations where aid is distributed.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Netanyahu on Tuesday, expressing his country's shock at the deaths, which included three Britons, and calling for an open, transparent, and in-depth independent investigation, according to Sunak's office.
In a separate call, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed to have voiced "anger and concern" to Netanyahu.
The closest ally of Israel, the United States, expressed outrage over the deaths of the aid workers and said Israel had a duty to protect them in Gaza even though there was no proof that Israel had targeted them on purpose.
To offer his condolences, US President Joe Biden gave WCK founder Andres a call. The White House said that Washington will put pressure on Israel to take further steps to safeguard aid workers.
According to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, the organization has once again demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where a famine is predicted.
Israel has long refuted claims that it is impeding the delivery of critically needed food aid to Gaza, which it has been besieging since October. Instead, it claims that the issue stems from the incapacity of international relief organizations to reach those in need.
According to WCK, the aid convoy was struck as it was departing its Deir al-Balah warehouse following the unloading of over 100 tons of food aid that had been transported to Gaza by sea.
The United Arab Emirates, which has funded the seaborne food shipments to Gaza that WCK distributed, said it was putting the shipments on hold pending safety guarantees from Israel and a thorough investigation. The U.S.-based charity announced that it would cease operations in Gaza.
Anera, an American humanitarian organization that collaborates with WCK, announced on Tuesday that it was also stopping operations in Gaza due to security concerns.
Generally pro-Israel nations like Australia, Britain, and Poland all called for action to protect aid workers, highlighting Netanyahu's growing diplomatic isolation over Gaza.
The international community has been putting increasing pressure on Israel to end the acute hunger in Gaza, which has been caused by Israel's offensive against Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist organization. According to Israeli figures, 1,200 people were killed in Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the conflict.
Since then, the majority of the 2.3 million people living there have been displaced and much of the densely populated territory has been destroyed. The Gaza health ministry, under Hamas rule, reports that over 32,000 Palestinians have died.
The United Nations and other international organizations have accused Israel of failing to ensure the security of food convoys and creating bureaucratic barriers to aid distribution. This accusation has been emphasized by a disaster on February 29 that claimed the lives of about 100 people who were waiting for aid to arrive.
The dominant group in Gaza, Hamas, has stated that Israeli targeting of aid workers is the primary issue with aid distribution. It said in a statement following the most recent incident that the attack's goal was to intimidate and dissuade employees of international humanitarian organizations from carrying out their duties.
Andres said he was devastated and in mourning for the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the airstrike. Andres founded WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and food to Haiti following an earthquake.
Video that Reuters was able to obtain showed paramedics transporting bodies into a hospital and displaying the passports of three of the deceased, along with a sizable hole in the roof of a four-wheel-drive WCK vehicle and its interior that had been burned and torn.
With fighting continuing in multiple areas on Tuesday and 71 people killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, Gaza health authorities say that the situation in the Gaza Strip is still extremely precarious.
