Killing of helpers

Israeli military dismisses two officers

Israeli armed forces (archive photo)(Bild: AFP )

Following the killing of seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has dismissed two officers. In addition, high-ranking commanders were formally reprimanded, the army announced on Friday. According to an investigation, serious mistakes were made during the airstrike.

There were also violations of operational regulations. The incident under investigation took place on Monday evening. As reported, Israeli forces had attacked a convoy of the aid organization World Central Kitchen with drones (see video above). They had mistakenly assumed that they were targeting vehicles belonging to armed Hamas fighters. The deaths of the aid workers sparked worldwide horror and harsh criticism of Israel's military.

An army investigation was published on Friday. The result: the incident was a "serious failure". The orders and instructions were not followed and the three vehicles that were bombed were clearly marked.

Israeli armed forces (archive photo)(Bild: AFP )

Civilian population in the Gaza Strip(Bild: AFP)

Aid organization: changes needed
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has since decided to dismiss a responsible commander and the chief of staff of the responsible brigade from their positions. The World Central Kitchen described the investigation and the dismissal as "important steps forward."

At the same time, however, fundamental changes are needed. "Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families," wrote the organization based in the US capital Washington. It said its team had followed "all proper communication procedures".

The seven volunteers who were killed were distributing food to the civilian population. They came from Australia, Poland, Great Britain and the Palestinian territories. One victim had US and Canadian citizenship.