Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Tuesday that Israeli forces had unintentionally struck and killed aid workers who were distributing food in Gaza.
“Our forces unintentionally hit innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on X. “As it happens in war, we are investigating the matter fully, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything possible to prevent this from happening again.”
The Monday strike killed seven workers from World Central Kitchen, causing the charity to suspend operations in the Gaza territory. The workers killed include British, Australian, Polish, an American-Canadian, and a Gazan national.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said World Central Kitchen CEO Erin Gore.
World Central Kitchen was created by celebrity chef Jose Andres and operates in conflict zones around the world. Andres himself accused the Israeli government of “indiscriminate killing” and restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The workers were bringing food to Gaza transported through a sea route from Cyprus, a small island nation in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus said ships were turning back with 240 tons of undelivered aid due to the strike. The charity previously helped Israelis displaced by the Hamas massacre on October 7 that sparked the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorist organization.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel is “committed to examining operations thoroughly and transparently” and expressed condolences to Andres. “We have been reviewing the incident in the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened. We will be opening a probe to examine this serious incident further, he added.
Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X he spoke to the IDF about the attack and mourned the loss of the Polish national, identified as volunteer worker Damian Sobol. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said the deceased aid worker was volunteer Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and demanded an explanation from Israel.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak expressed outrage at the strike and called for Israel to give a full explanation of how it happened.
“All our thoughts are with the families of those killed in this shocking strike, including three British aid workers,” Sunak said.
“Israel must explain how this tragic incident happened and take immediate steps to protect aid workers and facilitate vital humanitarian operations in Gaza.”
The World Central Kitchen workers had armored cars branded with the charity’s logo and the convoy coordinated its movements with the IDF. The employees unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid transported on the sea route.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said the Biden administration is “heartbroken” by the strike.
“Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened,” Watson added.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief also called for Israel to conduct an investigation into the strike.