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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the country’s forces carried out an “unintentional strike” that killed seven aid workers, including one Australian, working for a charity in central Gaza.
“Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said, according to the BBC, in a message delivered in Hebrew.
“It happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again.”
As a result of the deaths, which also included three British nationals, a Polish national, an American-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian, the charity World Central Kitchen suspended delivery on Tuesday of vital food aid to Gaza, where Israel’s offensive has pushed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
The Israeli military earlier expressed “sincere sorrow” over the deaths while stopping short of accepting responsibility.
Footage showed the bodies, several wearing protective gear with the charity’s logo, at a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.
The charity, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, was key to a recently opened sea route for delivering desperately needed aid to northern Gaza — where the UN says much of the population is on the brink of starvation, largely cut off from the rest of the territory by Israeli forces.
Andrés — whose charity operates in several countries wracked by wars or natural disasters, including Israel after the October 7 attack that triggered the current conflict — said he was “heartbroken” by the deaths of his colleagues.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The charity said the team was traveling in a three-car convoy that included two armored vehicles, and its movements had been coordinated with the Israeli army.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top military spokesman, said officials have been “reviewing the incident at the highest levels.” He says an independent investigation will be launched that “will help us reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again”.
Erin Gore, the CEO of the charity, said “this is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.”
UNRWA, the main UN agency in Gaza, said in its latest report that 173 of its workers have been killed in the territory since the war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1200 people and abducting around 250 hostages.
Israel responded with one of the deadliest and most destructive offensives in recent history.
In the face of a growing humanitarian disaster in Gaza’s north, several countries worked to open a sea route, hoping it would allow more aid to enter the territory, where supplies have only trickled in through the land routes controlled by Israel.
The United States and other countries have also airdropped aid, but humanitarian workers say such efforts are far from sufficient to meet mounting needs.
Israel has barred UNRWA from making deliveries to the north, and other aid groups say sending truck convoys north has been too dangerous because of the military’s failure to ensure safe passage.
Three aid ships from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus arrived earlier Monday carrying some 400 tons of food and supplies organised by World Central Kitchen and the United Arab Emirates following a pilot was run last month.
The United States, which has provided key military and diplomatic support for Israel’s offensive, has touted the sea route and plans to build its own floating dock, with construction expected to take several weeks.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US was “heartbroken and deeply troubled” by the strike.
“We urge Israel to swiftly investigate what happened,” she posted on X.
Nael Eliyan, a displaced Palestinian, was in his tent about 100 metres away when he heard the explosion late Monday and raced to the scene.
“Their injuries were serious, and they died quickly,” he said, describing them as “heroes, martyrs, brave people.”
The bodies of the aid workers were taken to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, according to an Associated Press reporter at the hospital.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Zomi Frankcom, 44, of Melbourne, was among those killed and said his government has requested an explanation from Israel.
“This is someone who was volunteering overseas to provide aid through this charity for people who are suffering tremendous deprivation in Gaza. And this is just completely unacceptable,” Albanese told reporters.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said his country was working to verify reports of the deaths of UK nationals in the strike, which he said was “deeply distressing.”
“It is essential that humanitarian workers are protected and able to carry out their work,” he wrote on X, also calling for an investigation.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry posted “sincerest words of sympathy” to the family of a volunteer who had offered assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, without saying how he was killed. The Foreign Ministry said it is requesting an explanation from Israel.
The mayor of Przemysl, Wojciech Bakun, named the victim on Facebook as Damian Soból and said he was from the city in southeastern Poland.
At least 32,916 Palestinians have been killed in the war, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
Israel blames the civilian toll on Palestinian militants because they fight in dense residential areas but the army rarely comments on individual strikes.
Two other apparent Israeli strikes late Monday killed at least 12 Palestinians, including five children, in Rafah, where Israel has vowed to expand its ground operation despite the presence of some 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.
One of the strikes hit a family home, and a father and his three children, ages 7, 13 and 19, were among those killed, according to hospital records. Another hit a gathering near a mosque, killing at least six people, including three children.
Aid groups have repeatedly called for a humanitarian cease-fire, saying it’s the only way to reach people in need. The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker such a pause and a hostage release but the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas remain bogged down.
Hamas is believed to be holding some 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others after freeing most of the rest during a cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
