Netanyahu admits Israel 'unintentionally' killed seven NGO workers

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, admitted this Tuesday that The Israeli Army “unintentionally” killed the seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian workers who died in the early morning in the Gaza Strip.

“Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case in which our forces unintentionally hit innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said in a message of gratitude to the medical team who operated on him for a hernia on Monday. , after being discharged.

Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case where our forces unintentionally hit innocent people in the Gaza Strip.

The prime minister reiterated that The event will be investigated exhaustively, and he defended that these types of things “happen in war.” “We will do everything possible to ensure that it does not happen again,” he added.

The attack by Israeli forces on a convoy of the humanitarian organization has motivated criticism from different countries, which call the Jewish Government to account.

As it turned out, the seven collaborators were of different nationalities. The airstrike, according to the NGO, cost the lives of a humanitarian team made up of three Palestinians, a Briton, a Pole, an Australian and a citizen with dual American-Canadian nationality.

Shortly before Netanyahu's statement, the Israeli Army announced that an independent military entity, the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, will investigate the attack, which has led the NGO to suspend its operations in the region.

WCK, founded by the Spanish chef living in the United States José Andrés, announced that it is suspending its operations in Gaza after confirming the death of these seven workers. “The WCK team was traveling in a de-escalation zone in two armored vehicles with the logo” of the organization, the group said in a statement.

The North American NGO participated on March 15 in the arrival of 200 tons of food and water to Gaza, inaugurating a maritime corridor aboard the Open Arms shipand despite calls from the international community and other humanitarian organizations that only the massive arrival of food by land will alleviate an imminent famine in Gaza.

The spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Daniel Hagari, explained in a message that he has spoken personally with chef José Andrés, founder of the humanitarian group, to express his condolences for the deaths of the workers.

They are believed to be the first foreign aid workers killed in the Gaza war since October 7, which has already claimed more than 32,800 lives, most of them women and children.

Government Criticism

The Government of the United Kingdom expressed its deep concern at the news of the death of a British aid worker among the seven dead and recalled: “we already urge Israel to do more to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza,” declared the Minister of Education, Gillian Keegan, to the BBC.

“If one of the charities working on the ground has suspended operations, it is deeply worrying,” he added.

If one of the charities working on the ground has suspended operations, it is deeply worrying.

Another of the governments directly concerned, that of Australia, said through its prime minister, Anthony Albanese, that has called on Israel to be “held accountable” for the death of a humanitarian worker.

The Canberra Executive has already contacted “directly” the Israeli Government to clarify this “completely unacceptable” event that goes “beyond any reasonable circumstance,” Albanese explained to journalists in the city of Brisbane.

“Australia expects full accountability for the death of humanitarian workers, which is unacceptable,” the president stressed, insisting that it is “a tragedy that should never have happened.”

As for Poland, its Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, reported this Tuesday that he has demanded explanations from Israel regarding the attack and added that His country “does not approve of the failure to respect international humanitarian law and the failure to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers”

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, demanded this Tuesday that Israel clarify the circumstances of the attack on the NGO of Spanish chef José Andrés and declared himself “horrified.”

Belgium criticized Israel's “unacceptable” murder of seven workers from the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) and stressed that “even in times of war, there are rules.”

“Even in times of war, there are rules. All parties must respect them. These acts are unacceptable,” Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib declared on the social network X.

Among others, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin declared at a press conference that His country opposes “any act that harms civilians, damages civilian facilities and violates international law.”

And the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called for an investigation into the attack on the WCK vehicles. “Despite all demands to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, we see new innocent victims.”