Among those killed in the Israeli airstrike on Gaza was a Pole who worked for the WCK aid organization. The case is causing heated discussions in Poland – and tensions with the Israeli government.
The Polish government has sharpened its tone towards Israel following the death of a Polish employee of the aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticized his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction to the incident and a statement from Ambassador Jakov Livne.
“Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mr. Ambassador Livne, the vast majority of Poles have shown solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack. Today you are putting that solidarity to the test. The tragic attack on the volunteers and your reaction arouse understandable anger,” wrote Tusk on Platform X.
Netanyahu speaks of “tragic case”
On Tuesday, an Israeli army airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen employees, including a Polish citizen. Netanyahu said in a video message that Israel was responsible for the airstrike. He spoke of a “tragic case of an accidental hit by our armed forces against innocent people in the Gaza Strip” and said that something like this happens in war.
The Israeli ambassador Jakov Livne, in turn, sparked a wave of outrage in Poland after the volunteer’s death with accusations of anti-Semitism. Livne was referring to a post by Polish opposition politician Krzysztof Bosak from the right-wing extremist Konfederacja on Platform X.
Bosak had pointed out that the convoy attacked by Israel was marked as humanitarian aid. “It appears that the Israeli leadership’s goal is to terrorize humanitarian organizations and increase famine among Palestinians,” Bosak wrote. “It has a name: war crimes.”
In his reaction, Livne wrote that Bosak still refuses to condemn the October 7 massacres. His party colleague Grzegorz Braun also put out a Hanukkah menorah in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher. “Bottom line: anti-Semites will always be anti-Semites, and Israel remains a democratic Jewish state that fights for its right to exist,” said Livne.
Biden “outraged and heartbroken”
The case of the aid organization’s killed employees caused outrage around the world. US President Joe Biden criticized Israel in an unusually clear manner. The country is not doing enough to protect aid workers trying to provide civilians with urgently needed help, Biden said. The US President said he was “outraged and heartbroken” over the deaths of the aid organization’s six foreign employees and their Palestinian driver.
“Incidents like yesterday’s simply cannot happen,” Biden also said. “The US has repeatedly called on Israel to combine its military operations against Hamas with humanitarian measures to avoid civilian casualties.”
In the statement, Biden also called for the Israeli investigation into the attack to take place quickly. The results would have to be published.
Aid organizations draw consequences
In addition to WCK, other aid organizations suspended their activities in the Gaza Strip. The Anera group announced the “unprecedented step” of pausing its humanitarian operations. Anera is a partner organization of WCK.
Project Hope, a US-founded group focused on medical assistance, also said it was suspending its work in the Gaza Strip. The International Medical Corps, which operates one of the largest field hospitals with 140 beds in Rafah, also announced that it would “reconsider our procedures.” Among other things, plans to build another field hospital in Deir al-Balah will be put to the test.
Martin Adam, ARD Warsaw, tagesschau, April 3, 2024 2:30 p.m