Aid convoy hit

Israeli army regrets attack on aid convoy

Seven people were killed in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy in the Gaza Strip.(Bild: APA/AFP)

The death of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday is causing grief and horror. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regretted the "unintentional" attack and promised an investigation into the incident. 

The aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) announced that it would immediately halt its operations in the region in light of the deadly attack on an aid convoy.

The convoy had been hit even though the journey had been coordinated with the Israeli army, WCK added. The aid workers had just left a warehouse in the village of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip when they were shot at. There they had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid, which had been brought to the Gaza Strip by sea.

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Europeans also among the dead
"This is not just an attack on WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations that come in the worst situations where food is used as a weapon in war," said the organization's executive director, Erin Gore. "This is unforgivable." According to the statement, the seven victims were from Australia, Poland, the UK and the Palestinian territories - in addition, one of the victims had US and Canadian citizenship.

In a video released on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu described the attack as tragic and unintentional. "We are looking into this thoroughly and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything we can to ensure that something like this does not happen again," Netanyahu continued. The prime minister was discharged from hospital on Tuesday after undergoing surgery for hernias.

Netanyahu is under strong international pressure.(Bild: AP)

Israel expresses "deepest regret over tragic incident"
The Israeli military said in an English-language video on Tuesday that it was conducting "a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident". Army spokesman Daniel Hagari expressed his "deepest regret" and announced that the incident would be investigated by an "independent, professional panel of experts". The Israeli armed forces are endeavoring to reduce the likelihood of such an incident occurring again if possible.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry called for an independent investigation into the incident and unhindered access for aid workers to the disputed coastal strip. "The lives of civilians and humanitarian aid workers must be protected at all times," the Foreign Office said in a post on X.

Poland demands answers from Israel
Poland demanded clarification from Israel in light of the reports of the death of a Polish citizen. "We have asked the Israeli embassy, the security forces and the Israeli armed forces for clarification," said a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Warsaw on Tuesday. "We know that the shelling took place in the north-central part of the Gaza Strip, and that a Polish citizen is mentioned among the people who died."

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of 44-year-old aid worker Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom and called for those responsible to be held accountable. "This is a human tragedy that should never have happened," he told journalists. In the USA, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, expressed her shock. "Humanitarian workers must be protected when they deliver urgently needed aid, and we call on Israel to investigate the incident quickly," she said.

WCK has been distributing aid to Palestinians since October
WCK has been involved in the distribution of aid in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is one of two aid organizations that deliver aid supplies by ship from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip and was also involved in the construction of a temporary jetty there.