'This should not have happened': IDF chief addresses killing of aid workers in Gaza
The Israeli military chief of staff said in a special statement that he had received the preliminary results of a probe into the killing 7 aid workers, saying it was a result of misidentification
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, addressed the death of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) employees by an airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
"Yesterday, seven workers of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed. This is an organization whose people work all over the world, including in Israel, to do good deeds in complex places," Halevi began. "The IDF works closely with the World Central Kitchen organization and highly appreciates their important work."
"We have completed a preliminary investigation on the matter. I want to state clearly, there was no deliberate attack against the WCK organization's aid workers," the IDF Chief of Staff stated during a special address.
"The severe incident is the result of a mistaken identification under complex conditions, at night, during a war. This should not have happened," he explained.
"The initial findings were presented to me just now here at the Southern Command. I visited the new humanitarian headquarters that we established here today in order to improve the way we coordinate the distribution of aid in Gaza," the IDF chief continued.
"We will continue to act in order to protect international organizations that distribute humanitarian aid. This attack is a serious mistake. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the residents of Gaza," he reiterated.
"We are sorry for unintentionally harming WCK workers. We share the sorrow of their families, as well as the sorrow of the entire World Central Kitchen organization, from the bottom of our hearts," Halevi said.
"The IDF Investigation Mechanism will investigate the event thoroughly. We will complete the investigation in the coming days, learn from the conclusions and implement them immediately. We will share, with full transparency, the findings of the investigation with the World Central Kitchen and other international bodies," he stated.
"We see great importance in continuing to provide humanitarian aid and will continue to act in order to assist in this vital effort," the IDF chief repeated. "The severe incident is a result of a mistaken identification under complex conditions - at night during a war. It should not have happened. We will complete the investigation in the coming days, learn from the conclusions and implement them immediately."
"I want to clarify - there was no deliberate attack against the organization's aid workers. This attack is a severe mistake," he concluded.