The IDF fired three times at the aid convoy, the target of the attack left it before it set off
The convoy of the "Central World Kitchen" organization was attacked due to the suspicion that an armed Hamas operative had joined the foreign volunteers, but he remained in the warehouse from where the journey began. According to security sources, after the first missile hit, the passengers tried to move to another vehicle - and were attacked a second and a third time
The attack in which seven workers at an aid organization in the Gaza Strip were killed tonight (Tuesday) was carried out due to the suspicion that a terrorist was also traveling in the vehicle convoy, during which a drone fired three missiles one after the other - according to security sources privy to the details. The description of the events preceding the attack indicates that a convoy and Three cars from the "World Central Kitchen" (WCK) left last night to accompany an aid truck to the organization's food warehouse in the Deir al-Balah area in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The vehicles were clearly marked as belonging to the organization, on the roof and on the sides. However, according to the sources briefed on the details of the incident, the HML of the unit responsible for securing the axis where the convoy was traveling identified an armed man on the truck and suspected that he was a terrorist. Until the preliminary operations for the attack, which was carried out using a "Zik" UAV, were completed, the truck arrived at the warehouse along with The organization's three vehicles, including seven volunteers, two of whom are Palestinians with dual citizenship (of the US and Canada) and the other five are citizens of Australia, Great Britain and Poland.
A few minutes later, the three cars of the aid organization left the warehouse, without the truck on which the gunman was allegedly identified. According to the security sources, that person did not leave the premises of the warehouse. The cars moved on a route approved in advance by the IDF, and their journey was also coordinated with the army. At one point, while the convoy was traveling on the approved route, the HML of the unit responsible for securing the traffic route ordered the UAV operators to attack one of the vehicles with a missile.
Some of the passengers were seen getting out of the car after the missile hit and moving to one of the other two. They continued their journey and even informed those responsible for them that they had been attacked, but seconds later another missile hit their vehicle. The third car in the convoy approached them, and the passengers began to transfer into it wounded people who survived the second attack - in order to keep them away from any danger. But then a third missile was fired that hit them. All seven of the organization's volunteers were killed in the attack.
This morning WCK managers announced the temporary suspension of their operations in Gaza, as well as the return to Cyprus of ships that left for Gaza with aid shipments on them. "It's frustrating," one of the security sources told Haaretz. "We break our teeth in order to hit the terrorists precisely, and we kill ourselves to exhaust every intelligence tip, and in the end the manipulative units decide to launch weapons just without any preparation, in cases that have nothing to do with protecting forces."
The IDF understands that this is a serious incident that may have far-reaching effects on the continuation of the fighting in Gaza, given the erosion of international legitimacy in recent weeks. The security establishment is preparing to send representatives to the countries from which the killed volunteers came in order to personally present to senior government representatives the findings of the investigation that the army announced The night.
Tonight's attack is not the first case where members of the organization have been injured. At the end of the week, an IDF sniper shot at a vehicle that was on its way to a food warehouse in the Khan Yunis area. The sniper's shot hit the windshield of the vehicle, but the volunteer who was traveling in it was not injured. The distribution of food in the strip, which is done in full coordination. However, the army did not respond to the organization's request regarding that case.
The IDF spokesman, Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari, today expressed his sorrow over the death of the seven volunteers in the attack on the convoy. "As a professional army committed to international law, we are obliged to examine our actions in a thorough and transparent manner," Hagari said in a statement to foreign media. He noted that he spoke with the founder of WCK, chef Jose Andres, and expressed his condolences on the death of the seven. "We are looking into the incident in depth, to understand the circumstances of what happened and how it happened," Hagary added.
According to residents of Deir al-Balah, who live near the area where the attack occurred, the convoy was hit near the makeshift pier that was set up for the purpose of unloading goods transported to Gaza by sea - similar to shipments organized by WCK personnel through Cyprus. Among the residents, there were those who rejected the army's words that it was a mistake and that the circumstances of the attack would be investigated. According to them, this is due to the fact that the cars in which the volunteers were traveling were clearly identified as belonging to the aid organization.
www.theguardian.com
