Ambulances carrying bodies of World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers killed by Israeli airstrikes, cross the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 3, 2024. Israel's military said Wednesday that the result of a preliminary debrief into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza was the result of "a misidentification." (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhu)
JERUSALEM, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said Wednesday that the result of a preliminary debrief into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza was the result of "a misidentification."
"I want to be very clear -- the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers," Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a video statement.
"It was a mistake that followed a misidentification -- at night during a war in very complex conditions," he said. "It shouldn't have happened."
His statement followed calls by Israeli allies, including the United States, demanding a full and independent investigation into the incident.
According to a statement from WCK, a U.S.-based organization, the seven staff members -- from Palestine, Australia, Poland, Britain, and one holding dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship -- were delivering aid in a convoy to famine-stricken Gaza. They were killed in a "targeted attack" by the Israeli military, said the statement, urging Israel to stop "this indiscriminate killing" in Gaza. ■
The body of a World Central Kitchen (WCK) worker killed by Israeli airstrikes is seen on an ambulance near the Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 3, 2024. Israel's military said Wednesday that the result of a preliminary debrief into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza was the result of "a misidentification." (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)
People prepare to transfer the body of a World Central Kitchen (WCK) worker killed by Israeli airstrikes, near the Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 3, 2024. Israel's military said Wednesday that the result of a preliminary debrief into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza was the result of "a misidentification." (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)
The body of a World Central Kitchen (WCK) worker killed by Israeli airstrikes is seen on an ambulance near the Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 3, 2024. Israel's military said Wednesday that the result of a preliminary debrief into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza was the result of "a misidentification." (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)
