MENAMiddle EastTop Story

Israel dismisses 2 officers over deadly drone strikes on aid workers in Gaza

The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement. The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the U.S., of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with Hamas.

Quick Read

  • Israeli Military Accountability: Following drone strikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, the Israeli military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for mishandling information and breaching engagement rules.
  • International Concerns: The incident has intensified scrutiny from allies like the U.S., questioning Israel’s efforts to safeguard civilians amid its conflict with Hamas.
  • Investigation Findings: The rapid investigation and disciplinary actions are uncommon in the Israeli military, where such probes typically extend without charges, sparking debates about impunity.
  • Impact on Aid Operations: Despite the military’s acknowledgment of the mistake, it’s uncertain if this will reassure international aid organizations about safely continuing their work in Gaza.
  • Call for Systemic Change: World Central Kitchen advocates for an independent investigation, emphasizing that adherence to military protocols is crucial to prevent future tragedies.
  • Details of Wrongdoing: The military’s investigation highlighted failures in recognizing convoy vehicles and inadequate verification before authorizing strikes, leading to misidentification and subsequent attacks on aid workers.
  • U.S. Reaction: Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged Israel’s proposed measures to enhance Gaza’s humanitarian conditions but emphasized the need for substantial improvements and civilian protection.
  • Widespread Criticism: The killings have drawn global condemnation, spotlighting the broader humanitarian crisis in Gaza and raising questions about the conduct of the Israeli military in the ongoing war.
  • Humanitarian Crisis: The conflict has severely impacted Gaza’s population, with significant casualties and a dire food shortage, prompting international calls for increased aid and protective measures for civilians and aid workers.

The Associated Press has the story:

Israel dismisses 2 officers over deadly drone strikes on aid workers in Gaza

Newslooks- JERUSALEM (AP) —

The Israeli military said Friday that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the U.S., of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with Hamas.

Palestinians inspect a vehicle with the logo of the World Central Kitchen wrecked by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. A series of airstrikes killed seven aid workers from the international charity, leading it to suspend delivery Tuesday of vital food aid to Gaza. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

The findings are likely to bolster widespread skepticism over the Israeli military’s decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the conflict — a charge Israel denies.

“It’s a tragedy,” the military’s spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, told reporters. “It’s a serious event that we are responsible for and it shouldn’t have happened and we will make sure that it won’t happen again.”

The body of a person wearing a World Central Kitchen t-shirt lies on the ground at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, April 1, 2024. World Central Kitchen, an aid group, says an Israeli strike that hit its workers in Gaza killed at least seven people, including several foreigners. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

With pressure mounting on Israel to hold itself accountable, Hagari and other officials late Thursday shared with reporters the results of the investigation.

The speed of the probe and the swift punishment of five senior officers were extremely unusual. Such investigations are often slow and in most cases end without charges being filed. Human rights activists have long complained that Israeli forces operate in a climate of impunity, an allegation the military rejects.

A man displays blood-stained British, Polish, and Australian passports after an Israeli airstrike, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, April 1, 2024. Gaza medical officials say an apparent Israeli airstrike killed four international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity and their Palestinian driver after they helped deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza that had arrived hours earlier by ship. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Still, the punishments and the apology seemed unlikely to calm rising international outcry over the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers or reassure international aid groups that it was safe to resume operations in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is on the brink of starvation.

The food charity called the investigation and disciplinary actions “important steps forward” — but noted the probe itself found that the army didn’t follow its own protocols.

“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,” the statement read, repeating a call for an independent investigation.

In this undated photo provided by Free Place Foundation and posted on Facebook on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Damian Sobol of Poland, left, one of the seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Monday, poses for a selfie with Marta Wilczynska, head of the Free Place Foundation. (Free Place Foundation’s Facebook via AP)

Military spokespeople said that under the Israeli army’s rules of engagement, officers must have more than one reason for identifying someone as a target before they can be hit. But the investigation determined that a colonel had authorized the series of deadly drone strikes on the convoy based on one major’s observation — from grainy drone-camera footage — that someone in the convoy was armed. That observation turned out to be untrue, military officials said.

In this undated photo provided by Free Place Foundation and posted on Facebook on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Zomi Frankcom of Australia, right, one of the seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Monday, poses for a picture with Mikolaj Rykowski, President of the Free Place Foundation. An Israeli airstrike on aid workers delivering food in Gaza has killed at least seven people. Among the dead are citizens of Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom and a U.S.-Canada dual citizen. (Free Place Foundation’s Facebook via AP)

The army said the colonel and the major were dismissed, while three other officers were reprimanded, the most senior of whom was the head of the Southern Command. It said the results of its investigation were turned over to the military’s advocate general, who will decide whether the officers or anyone else involved in the killings should receive further punishment or be prosecuted.

FILE – Jose Andres, a Spanish chef, and founder of World Central Kitchen unloads the humanitarian food packages delivered with WCK’s truck in Kherson, Ukraine, on Nov. 15, 2022. World Central Kitchen, called a halt to its work in the Gaza Strip after an apparent Israeli strike killed seven of its workers, mostly foreigners. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

The killings were condemned by Israel’s closest allies. They heightened criticism of Israel’s conduct in the nearly 6-month-old war with Hamas — and put renewed focus on the dire situation in Gaza. The humanitarian group Oxfam says people in the enclave’s north have been surviving on an average of 245 calories a day since January — less than found in a can of fava beans and less than 12% of the recommended intake.

Israel has promised to open more border crossings into Gaza and increase the flow of aid into the territory — but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions.

Palestinians carry the body of a World Central Kitchen worker at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. World Central Kitchen, an aid group, says an Israeli strike that hit its workers in Gaza killed at least seven people, including several foreigners. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

If fully implemented, the measures could increase assistance to Palestinians. But the U.S. also wants to see tangible steps to better protect civilians and aid workers, he said.

Those killed Monday were three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian, a Canadian American dual citizen and a Palestinian, all of whom worked for World Central Kitchen, the international charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés.

The investigation, headed by Yoav Har-Even, a retired general, found two major areas of wrongdoing.

People inspect the site where World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. World Central Kitchen, an aid group, says an Israeli strike that hit its workers in Gaza killed at least seven people, including several foreigners. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

It faulted officers for failing to read messages alerting troops that cars, not aid trucks, would carry workers from the charity away from the warehouse where aid was distributed. As a result, the cars that were targeted were misidentified as transporting militants.

The army also faulted a major who identified the strike target and a colonel who approved the strike for acting with insufficient information.

The army said the order was given after one of the passengers inside a car was identified as a gunman. It said troops became suspicious because a gunman had been seen on the roof of one of the delivery trucks on the way to the warehouse.

An ambulance carrying bodies of the foreign humanitarian aid workers killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza crosses the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abudraa)

The army showed reporters footage of the gunman firing his weapon while riding atop one of the trucks — video that The Associated Press could not independently verify.

After the aid was dropped off at a warehouse, an officer believed he had spotted a gunman boarding one of the cars. The passenger, it turned out, was not carrying a weapon — the military said it’s possible he was just carrying a bag.

The army said it then struck one car. As people scrambled away into a second car, it hit that vehicle as well. It did the same thing when survivors fled into a third car.

Bodies of the foreign humanitarian aid workers killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Gaza, are seen on an ambulance as it crosses the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmed abudraa)

World Central Kitchen and the military said they coordinated the convoy’s movements, and that the vehicles were marked with the organization’s logo. But army officials claimed that drone operators could not see the words because it was nighttime.

The army could not say exactly where the communication about the convoy’s plans had broken down.

In this screen grab taken from video, the body of one of the six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli strikes is loaded into an ambulance in Gaza, Wednesday April 3, 2024. The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in a series of Israeli strikes were transported out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt on Wednesday ahead of their repatriation, Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV reported. (AP Video)

The army declined to answer questions about whether similar violations of rules of engagement have taken place during the war — in which Palestinians, aid workers and international rights groups have repeatedly accused the army of recklessly striking civilians.

More than 220 humanitarian workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the U.N.

“Let’s be very clear. This is tragic, but it is not an anomaly,” Scott Paul, of Oxfam, said Thursday in a briefing with other relief organizations before the results of Israel’s investigation were released. “The killing of aid workers in Gaza has been systemic.”

For more world news

Previous Article
Blinken: Israeli offers to increase flow of aid to Gaza are welcome but may not be sufficient
Next Article
Yellen calls for level playing field for US workers & firms during China visit

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu