LONDON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain, Australia and Canada said on Friday it is "shameful" and "egregious" that Israel would not pursue criminal investigations into a 2024 strike on the World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza that led to the death of seven humanitarian workers.
The announcement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday that it would not investigate the strike without further explanation is "shameful," the foreign ministers of the three countries said in a joint statement.
"Announcing this decision on World Humanitarian Day, while the world honoured the courage and sacrifice of humanitarians, was particularly egregious," the statement said. "The victims of this incident and their families deserve justice and accountability, and we will continue to seek answers on their behalf."
The foreign ministers urged Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, and do more to ensure that humanitarian staff can carry out their work safely.
The IDF said on Wednesday that it had completed a review of the incident and concluded that there were serious failures that led soldiers to falsely assess that the vehicles contained Hamas operatives, but that the decisions of commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.
The seven aid workers were killed when the World Central Kitchen convoy was struck by an Israeli airstrike in a humanitarian food delivery mission on April 1, 2024. ■