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Israel’s military has fired two senior officers after concluding Monday’s attack that killed seven food aid workers in Gaza was in « serious violation » of its commands.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that « those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives, » calling the attack « a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification. »
It said the strike was carried out in « serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures, » and dismissed a major and a colonel in reserve. Three other IDF officials were formally reprimanded; the commanders of the brigade and division involved, and the commander of the Southern Command, who bore « overall responsibility. »
Seven aid workers – three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian and a Pole – were killed in Monday’s strikes on cars operated by the World Central Kitchen (WCK), setting off fury in those countries.
The IDF detailed in its preliminary findings a series of botched assessments and decision-making failures that led to the targeted strikes on three cars carrying innocent aid workers.
Its forces « identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman, » the IDF said, as the trucks transported food to a warehouse in Gaza.
