A preliminary report from the Israeli army this Wednesday concluded that the attack on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid convoy, in which 7 of its employees were killed, was not “intended to harm aid workers” and This was due to “mistaken identity”.

“I want to be clear: The attack was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a failure due to mistaken identity: at night, during the war, in very difficult conditions. This should not have happened,” said the Israeli army chief of staff. Herzi Halevi, when presenting the preliminary findings of his research.

Halevi insisted that “An independent organization is thoroughly investigating the incident,” more detailed investigations will be completed in the coming days, and promised that the army will “learn from its findings, take immediate action and share these findings with the WCK and other relevant international organizations.”

The military commander noted that A “command center” has been created to improve coordination of the distribution of humanitarian aid. in the Gaza Strip, hours after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered it and vowed to do more to protect aid workers.

About 200 aid workers were killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, which shows that the attack on the WCK convoy “is not an isolated incident”, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jamie McGoldrick, condemned yesterday.

“We appreciate the importance of continuing the distribution of humanitarian aid and “We will do everything we can to continue to contribute to this vital effort.”Halevi argued, despite being repeatedly reproached by humanitarian organizations, that Israel is not facilitating this work because it refuses to open more land routes, especially to the north where famine is a reality, which speeds up distribution and does not guarantee the safety of convoys that are under constant attack.

“This incident was a serious mistake. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. We apologize for the unintentional harm to WCK members,” said the Chief of the General Staff.

Israeli drone He even fired three shots at the WCK column. In the town of Deir el-Balah, in the center of the enclave, despite the vehicles being clearly marked with the organization’s logo, an attack took place that left four foreigners and three Palestinians dead, according to details of the attack obtained exclusively by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The first rocket hit the vehicle leading the convoy. and the survivors ran for cover to the next car, which A few seconds later, he was also attacked by another missile.. A third car came to their aid and was hit again, the newspaper reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was yesterday was the first to admit Israel’s responsibility for this “unintentional” attackand President Isaac Herzog called Spanish chef José Andrés, director and founder of WCK, last night to apologize for the incident.

The army ordered an independent investigation c the Factual Investigation and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM), a body headed by a major general responsible for providing as much information as possible to decide whether to initiate criminal investigations into incidents in combat.

Chef José Andrés responds to Netanyahu: “The attack is the result of cutting aid to desperate levels”

Spanish chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), responded this Wednesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “It wasn’t just an unfortunate mistake” but “a direct result of your government’s policies cut humanitarian aid to desperate levels.”

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“The airstrikes on our convoy were not just an unfortunate mistake in the fog of war. This was a direct attack on clearly marked vehicles. whose movements were known to the IDF,” the Spanish chef chided in an article for an Israeli newspaper. Yedioth Ahronot.

“This was also a direct result of his government’s policy of reduced humanitarian aid to desperate levels,” he stressed.while calling for “Israel’s best” because “the hostages cannot be saved by bombing all the buildings in the Gaza Strip.”

In this sense, while he called it good news that the Israeli army and government had launched an investigation into what happened on Monday, he noted that this investigation “Everything has to start from the top, not just from the bottom.”

“You can’t win this war by starving the entire population” emphasized the founder of WCK, who remembered the workers of his NGO as “the best representatives of humanity” who “risked everything for the most fundamental human activity: sharing food with others.”

José Andrés noted that “Israelis, in the depths of their hearts, “They know that food is not a weapon of war.” and that “Israel is better than the way this war is being fought.” Better, he stressed, than “blocking food and medicine supplies” and “killing humanitarian workers.”

“The Israeli government needs to open land routes for the delivery of food and medicine. He must stop killing civilians and aid workers. “You need to start the long journey towards peace today,” he exclaimed.

(according to information from EFE And Europe Press)