“These are things that happen in a war,” Benjamin Netanyahu defended himself after the global shock following the attack on an NGO in Gaza

World Central Kitchen (WCK), the Spanish-American NGO that was sending one million food rations to Gaza, has stopped its operations in the Palestinian enclave. His three ships are returning to Cyprus, after seven of its aid workers were killed in an Israeli attack on their convoy on Monday. Three of them were British. The others had Australian, Polish, American and Palestinian nationalities.

These aid workers were in a convoy near Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip. They had just deposited “100 tons of food aid,” reads the organization’s press release, when they were attacked by Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted and said so These are things that happen “in war”.

“Unfortunately, a tragic incident occurred yesterday (Monday), when our forces unintentionally attacked innocent people in the Gaza Strip. This happens in a war. We will monitor it until the end. “We are in contact with the governments and we will do everything possible to ensure this does not happen again,” he said from the hospital where he underwent surgery on Sunday afternoon for a hernia.

Early Tuesday, The Israeli army said it would open an “investigation” to determine the circumstances of this attack. “We will open an investigation to further examine this serious incident. This will help us limit the risk of a similar event happening again,” said army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. He added that he had spoken with the founder of the NGO, the Hispanic-American José Andrés.

The Israeli military says it is “reviewing the tragic incident at the highest level to understand the circumstances” and says it is “working closely with the WCK” on aid distribution.

“Israel must urgently explain how this happened”

“Three British aid workers have been killed in the Israeli air strike in Gaza,” the charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) said.

In the British government the news has fallen like a bomb, when the kingdom is supplying weapons to Israel.

“I spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz to highlight that the deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, including three British citizens, are completely unacceptable. “Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make important changes to ensure the safety of aid workers on the ground,” Chancellor Lord David Cameron said.

The UK called on the Israeli ambassador in London for Israel to “establish an effective conflict resolution mechanism and urgently expand humanitarian access”.

The UK government released a statement afterwards summon the Israeli ambassador. In it, Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said: “Today I have summoned the ambassador of the Israeli embassy in London to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Set out the Government’s unequivocal condemnation of the horrific murder of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British citizens. “I called for a rapid and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability,” he continued.

“I reiterated the need for Israel to immediately and urgently establish an effective conflict resolution mechanism to expand humanitarian access. “We need to see an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and free the hostages, and then move towards a sustainable ceasefire,” the British development minister said.

Polish and Australian citizens were also killed, as well as a dual citizen of the United States and Canada and a Palestinian, who was driving the car in which they were all traveling.

The volunteers were employees of WCK, a non-governmental organization that provides food to displaced Palestinians.

British Prime Minister Rishi Syunak is “shocked” by the deaths of aid workers

An armored and authorized convoy

Meanwhile, WCK executive director Erin Gore said the volunteer team was “traveling in a non-conflict area, aboard two armored vehicles with the WCK logo and another vehicle,” when they were hit .

“Despite coordinating movements with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the convoy was hit while leaving a depot in the town of Deir al Balah in central Gaza,” the charity said. He added it will immediately suspend its operations in the region.

“This is a tragedy. Aid workers and civilians should NEVER be targeted. EVER,” the charity said in a statement. “This is not just an attack against the WCK. It is an attack against humanitarian organizations, which appear in the most dire situations where food is used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” they said.

The IDF, which comprises the Israeli army, said it was carrying out “a thorough analysis at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s top military spokesman, said he expressed the Israel Defense Forces’ “deepest condolences to the families and the entire World Central Kitchen family.”

He said the IDF would further investigate the “serious incident” to “help us reduce the risk of such an event happening again.”

THE AUSTRALIAN VICTIM

Australia confirmed this morning that one of its citizens, Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, was one of the victims.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised the “extraordinarily valuable” work he is doing in Gaza helping with food distribution. He added that Australia will “seek accountability”. “It’s a tragedy that should never have happened,” he insisted.

A week earlier, the Australian, who everyone calls Zomi, had been filmed in the Gaza Strip with the NGO’s cooks. “Here is the magnificent fragrant rice that will be served today in the kitchen of Deir al-Balah,” he says smiling in this video published on March 25.

This was not the first field mission for Australian aid workers. According to the prime minister, she had already volunteered after the bushfires that devastated Australia between October 2019 and February 2020.

Lalzawmi Frankcom also appeared in a video published by the Bahamas, after Hurricane Dorian hit the archipelago in 2019. In September 2023, the Australian also traveled to Morocco, after the devastating earthquake that hit the country. “We will go to these isolated villages as quickly as possible to serve the residents fresh food and water,” he told US channel MSNBC.

Polish victim

The Polish Foreign Minister also confirmed this this morning one of those killed was Polish. He offered his “condolences to the family of our brave volunteer and to all the civilian victims in Gaza.” According to Polish and Israeli media, he is Damian Rafal, 35 years old.

The mayor of the Polish city of Przemysl (southeast), Wojciech Bakun, where the Polish victim appears to be from, said on his official Facebook account: “Yesterday, during a rocket attack by Israeli forces on a humanitarian convoy carrying food. In the Gaza Strip, one of our colleagues from Przemysl, a volunteer, member of the World Central Kitchen team, was killed.” “There are no words to describe what people who knew this amazing man feel now,” added Wojciech Bakun.

The foreign minister was more cautious about the victim’s identity. “This person’s details will be provided only when his body is identified” by the Polish consul, he said. The country’s authorities will open an investigation, demanding “urgent explanations” about the attack.

End of NGO operations in Gaza

WCK humanitarian ships arrived in Gaza on Monday They carried 400 tons of food and supplies (enough for 1 million meals), in an expedition funded by the United Arab Emirates and organized by WCK. But workers had unloaded just 100 tonnes, before the attack led to the charity ordering the ships to return to Cyprus.

Last month, another WCK ship delivered 200 tons of aid in a pilot project led by WCK volunteers and others in Gaza, who built a pier out of rubble from buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing over the past five years. The Israeli army participated in the coordination of both deliveries.

Washington, Israel’s most important ally, has promoted the sea route as a new way to bring desperately needed aid to northern Gaza, which is largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces.