Israel fired three missiles at the convoy of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza

The convoy of three World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles that was attacked on Tuesday in Gaza was hit by three missiles from the Israeli army, according to sources from the Israeli Ministry of Defense cited by the newspaper Haaretz. Seven people died in the attack, all aid workers for the disaster relief group that has been distributing food in the Strip. The news report in Haaretz offers more questions than answers, as it states that there were three successive attacks. All three cars were hit as the wounded survivors moved from one to the other. All three vehicles were clearly marked on the roof and on the front with the logo of WCK, the organization founded by the Spanish-American chef José Andrés. As is usual in these cases, the Israeli defense forces (IDF) had been informed of the route and the time at which the convoy would leave.

The WCK has paused operations in an area at risk of imminent famine. Last month a ship called the Open Arms, run by a Spanish migrant rescue charity, took a cargo of WCK food aid to Gaza in what represented the first delivery of aid by a maritime route due to the difficulty of delivering it by land.

When the first missile hit the car leading the convoy, the survivors ran for cover to the next one. From there, they notified their managers that they had been attacked. Seconds later, this vehicle was also hit. The third car in the convoy approached, and when the passengers came out to help the injured, this vehicle was hit as well. The first and the last vehicle were over a mile apart as they journeyed down the same road, as deduced from satellite images.

The sources cited by the Israeli newspaper justified the attack, arguing that the IDF had previously detected an armed man in a truck and took him for a member of Hamas. It is likely that this individual was in charge of protecting the convoy against attacks by hungry crowds, as well as smugglers. Recently, there have been several assaults against aid convoys, most famously one that affected a convoy laden with flour which left more than a hundred dead last month; some of the victims died due to Israeli soldiers shooting at unarmed civilians. In any case, the armed man that Israeli troops said they saw stayed behind in a warehouse and never got into the cars, according to the Haaretz article. The order from the military unit responsible for the attack against the three vehicles came later.

Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has emphasized the importance of carrying out a “thorough and professional” investigation into the attack, and committed to making it “open and transparent.” Gallant has stressed that his country’s troops are acting in a complex environment, although he has spoken of the importance of strengthening coordination mechanisms with key partners. After a meeting with the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, the minister has highlighted the relevant work carried out by NGOs and the commitment of the Netanyahu administration to work “closely” with them to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid.

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