Personnel consequences after the Israeli drone attack on an aid convoy in Gaza: The army has fired two officers. An investigation report speaks of “serious failure”.
Israel has fired two officers in response to the deadly attack on seven aid workers in the Gaza Strip. Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has decided to dismiss a responsible commander and the chief of staff of the responsible brigade from their positions, the military said.
In addition, several senior commanders were reprimanded. An investigation into Monday evening’s incident found that the armed forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas militants when they used drones to attack three vehicles belonging to the US aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK).
More international Pressure is massive
There were violations of standard procedures. “The attack on the support vehicles is a serious mistake resulting from a serious failure due to misidentification, faulty decisions and an attack contrary to standard operating procedures,” the military statement said. The results of the investigation would indicate that the incident should not have happened.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces killed seven World Central Kitchen employees in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, whose vehicles were clearly marked, according to the organization. The already considerable international pressure on Israel due to the lack of care for the Palestinian civilian population has increased even further due to the air strike on the WCK employees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the attack as a “tragic incident,” but did not apologize. Army chief Halevi quickly accepted responsibility and admitted a “serious mistake.” A retired general was then assigned to investigate.
World Central Kitchen demands change
World Central Kitchen called the military’s investigation and firing of the officers “important steps forward.” At the same time, the aid organization insisted on fundamental changes. “Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families.”
The report shows that the military “used lethal force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules.” The military also admitted that the aid organization’s team followed “all proper communication procedures.”
The organization once again reiterated its call for an independent, third-party investigation into the incident. Their operations in the Gaza Strip remained suspended.
Poland wants to send its own investigators
The WCK helpers killed were British, Australian and Polish citizens, a US-Canadian with dual nationality and a Palestinian helper. The attack triggered a crisis in Polish-Israeli relations. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the incident and the Israeli government’s public reaction put solidarity with Israel “to a severe test.”
Israel’s ambassador in Warsaw was therefore presented with a protest note at the Foreign Ministry today. Jakov Livne apologized for the attack, said Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna after the meeting.
The protest note made it clear that Israel must investigate the soldiers responsible for the attack on the humanitarian convoy not only disciplinarily but also criminally, said Szejna. “It wasn’t an act of war, it was murder.” Poland is also demanding compensation for the family of the killed helper. In addition, Polish investigators must be involved in the investigation, said Szejna.